Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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saying thank you for 2016

Soaking in our second Hot Tub Summit of the day, this time drenched in bright sunshine instead of stardust, I casually asked my husband how will he remember this past year. What stands out to him about 2016. He said that was too big a question to spring on a person, and of course he’s right. I have been meditating on this question for days and still have not distilled a complete answer.

These past twelve months have been wildly textured, rich with hurt and joy, adventure, romance, back-breaking labor, stress that made us brittle then relief that rinsed us clean and made us pliable again, accomplishments, failures, more accomplishments, and so much popcorn.

Thank goodness for homemade popcorn, really, and all the cuddling that comes with it.

I do not count myself among the folks who are weighed down mourning the apparently disproportionate loss of celebrities this year. To each his own, for sure. I admit that our 2016 In Memoriam will be a tear jerker when those video montages start circulating, but my real actual life has been such a roller coaster of grief and joy, and that roller coaster has lasted for so many years with almost no acknowledgement from the outside world, that I have little need to mourn strangers. Does that sound cold or dis-compassionate? It doesn’t feel that way. I just feel fairly focused on this gorgeous little nine-acre bubble here. Well, these nine acres plus all the places on Earth where our disconnected loved ones call home.

Love knows no property lines, of course. And maybe also not time.

I can barely remember whether I declared a big glittering resolution a year ago, but I am so happy to look back and see that the year was far better than I could have hoped or achieved on my own. The Law of Attraction must have a built in clause about excess and grace, because so many things have happened beyond my wildest imagination, it’s thrilling. I feel healthy, settled, strong, grateful, excited, nourished, and eyes-wide-open, you know?

That last one bears a cool distinction because for a while (a few years) there I was living so much by faith that my eyes were shut tight. If that makes any sense. I had to drive fast and hard and follow the curves completely blind in order to keep moving forward.

I am still relying on faith, as it always should be, but now minus the constant terror.

Anyway. If I had a resolution or even a theme word for 2016, I don’t remember it and have little interest in searching my blog or journal to know for sure. Life has brought me (us, I hope) to a better place.

Instagram “Top Nine” offers the following memories, based solely on likes:

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It was fun to walk down that lane. But I don’t put everything on Instagram. Those photographic archives don’t show the late night conversations with Jocelyn, the private moments of reflection spent reading challenging books, and certainly not the irreplaceable romance I enjoy with my husband. Even logging most of my sweaty, hard-earned miles one digital place or another, I cannot see anywhere online how much running has changed my life. My sister Angela’s full-spectrum journey back to health and the family is nowhere on the internet, and neither is my husband’s amazing career evolution.

No collective experience on social media, not even on this blog where I indulge myself constantly, can paint the full portrait of my life lately, and that’s good. That’s really, really good.

We still have unfulfilled longings, unanswered prayers, and goals for which we strive constantly. This also is really good, because we remain (mostly) humble and hungry.

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It’s the last day of a spectacular year, and I just want to say THANK YOU to God, to all the elements of the Universe that have converged to answer our hopes and reward our work. I want to say thank you to our friends who have helped shape our world so beautifully, and even to our few enemies who are just living their own lives, after all. We learn plenty from you, and we don’t feel hate anymore.

Handsome and I have not quite decided how we’ll celebrate New Year’s Eve, because we both assumed it would be easy to find the right event, but everything locally is sold out, ha! It’s fine. Friday night we attended a wonderful engagement party for our friends Tami and Jason, and tomorrow night we are hosting a casual bonfire to kick off 2017 with easy fun. So if tonight we stay home with our animals and soak up a quiet countdown to midnight, that’s fine by me.

Homemade popcorn and cuddling sound perfect.

Then on to dreaming big for 2017.

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See you next year, friends!

XOXOXOXO

holiday shenanigans

What a weekend. What a week! What a week before that, all wrapping up a pretty incredible December. Christmas 2016 has been particularly magical and exhausting in the best ways.

Truth? It’s been that kind of year for us. One mammoth joy after another, one long stream of hard labor following a workload we had though might break us (but didn’t), then more. Plenty of surprises, some steadiness, lots of prayers answered and trust fulfilled. All of it loosely French-braided into a beautiful, hopeful, satisfying, thrilling, humbling life. This has been a year for the books, and at the same time it feels a lot like a really great warm up. We are happily poised for the new year and cannot wait to share some exciting stuff with you guys.

But first, some Christmas notes. It was so amazing.

We have become acquainted with a local group called “Jedi OKC” who organizes not just fun social events but also some heart-warming charity efforts, too. Our early winter has been full of excellent time with these folks. Below is a good part of them dressed up for a local theater premier of Rogue One. My husband is Kylo Ren. I love this photo so much, haha! In the coming months I’ll share more about his new part of our life. We are pretty excited.

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I told you that Jocelyn surprised us, right? That she just pulled up to the farm one day, ready to celebrate Christmas a whole week early, and basically made my heart explode? She spent less than a week in Oklahoma but visited the farm (including one fun coffee-and-shopping trip) several times. We opened gifts, ate lots of homemade food, made Tiger Butter together, enjoyed technicolor sunsets and horse time, caught up with each other, met a couple more of her friends, and just gave thanks day and night for her happiness and strength.

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Then she made it back “home” to Colorado and has since been caring for an injured friend, working triple shifts, and feeding and loving her dog Bridget like a pro. We are so very proud of her. We miss her, and we miss her little sister so much for different reasons, but we are happy and thankful.

Side note: Klaus thought that week was all about him and Bridget.

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Then we had a few quiet days at the farm to finish apron orders (thank you to everyone who made this sewing season amazing!!), do some low-key partying with friends, add sparkling farm decorations, and shop for final gifts. 

Klaus going for a stick fetch on our frozen pond.

Klaus going for a stick fetch on our frozen pond.

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Handsome and Klaus and I all traded surprises here and there, cleaned the house one final time, then prepared for another very special visitor…

Genevieve!!

In our childhood home, doing dishes together after an amazing lasagna meal on Christmas Eve. Mom and Dad hosted all of us TWICE despite being in the midst of a serious kitchen remodel. It was wonderful!
In our childhood home, doing dishes together after an amazing lasagna meal on Christmas Eve. Mom and Dad hosted all of us TWICE despite being in the midst of a serious kitchen remodel. It was wonderful. Thanks Parents!! xoxo

My baby sister spent an extra long Christmas weekend at the farm, and all of the Lazy W residents thoroughly enjoyed every second of her being here. During her stay we ate well and frequently (two recipes coming soon!), talked long and late about things both important and not so, and laughed a lot. Gen and I went running together a few times and compared all kinds of opinions on workout gear and healthy eating. Handsome and I once again gave thanks for the happiness and strength of another precious young woman in our life. 

The three of us visited our Grandpa Stubbs and drove to the City for a double dose of family fun. Our sister Angela’s kids were all together and provided the clan with a gorgeous Christmas carol music concert. Dante plays the trumpet, and the little girls are both learning the violin. It made me cry.

Have you heard of the board game called “Telestrations?” Yeah. Find it and purchase ASAP. You’re welcome.

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It’s like a cross between pictionary and the old-fashioned telephone rumors game. Genius.

We hosted a spontaneous slumber party for all the local siblings and our sister Angela’s kiddos, and it was perfect. It was the first time in many years that so many of us slept under the same roof. Pretty cool. Then Mom, Dad, and Grandpa Stubbs joined us at the farm for brunch the next day. I loved it.

Shenanigans, basically. 

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Facetime fun with my first little brother’s two boys. Joey and Halee and their sweet bunch were sorely missed this Christmas, so we send all of our love to them in Virginia!
A friendly stare down between my Dad and Klaus.
A friendly stare down between my Dad and Klaus.
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Great-Grandpa Stubbs with Clark the metal rooster, niece Chloe, and one memorable Monopoly box.

Chloe dressed Klaus in a pashmina and fur stole and gave him endless cuddles. He smiled like nobody's business, ok?
Side note: Klaus thought this past week was all about him and either Gen or the nieces or maybe him and my Dad and Grandpa Stubbs. 

He’s not wrong, he’s just self-centered in the sweetest way, ok? This dog has lots of love to give and needs as much in return.

Our long holiday weekend with Gen was awesome. Truly. We miss her a lot.

As I said before, the whole month of December has been one for the books. Magical and meaningful, love-filled and happy.

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So we are luxuriating now, soaking up all the good vibrations of a December well spent. A holiday season that rewarded and nourished us. We feel well fed and strong, ready to face the end of the calendar year with fresh energy for January. 

Thank you for being here, Gen! Thank you, Mom and Dad, and Angela, and Jocelyn. Thank you to our friends and Jedi OKC and everyone who contributed to the feeling of joy and lightness lately. We cherish you.

“What is making that meow sound?”
~Genevieve Michelle Dunaway, age 33
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

fun christmas survey

I have been enjoying a slow, sweet acquaintance with fellow Oklahoma runner and blogger Tara over at Run and Live Happy. She has a beloved dog named Jake and a new horse, too, so… Oh! And also she wears Brooks shoes. xoxo

Tara just posted a Christmas Survey that was fun to read, and it got me thinking of so many stories I’ve been wanting to tell you guys anyway. So a survey it is. Happy Thursday to us, and Merry Christmas Tara!

Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?  Haha, traditionally we have always opened one gift on Christmas Eve, and it is traditionally cozy new pajamas. Maybe one extra little something. This is something my parents started when I was pretty young (long before there were five siblings), and I happily carried it over to my girls. But this year our Christmas came almost two weeks early when Jocelyn surprised us with a visit home! She opened all of her gifts then (that’s a whole happy memory right there).
As for Christmas weekend 2016, my baby sister will be spending much of it with us at the farm, so Handsome and I have been trading our gifts here and there already. Saturday and Sunday will be all about cuddling and a glowing fireplace and staying up late talking, with a happy, hefty dose of visiting family in OKC and trading gifts there.

Is your Christmas tree real or fake? Haha, another departure this year! Normally we put up and decorate a real tree. But this year after a little time in Colorado to preview the season, I had a strong craving to keep a tree up all winter long, all the way until March probably, so an artificial tree was a smarter choice. I did embellish it with lots of natural branches, though, from all over the farm. To be clear, it won’t be “Christmassy” until March, just wintry. Ok. 

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Do you like tinsel? Yeeeeep. Love it! But I like the skinny thread-like tinsel more than the fluffy rope-like tinsel garland, you know? Handsome likes both. The shinier and more shimmery the better. I like anything metallic, really. Disco balls. Glitter. Mirrors. Those things mixed with natural stuff. Metals and textiles, yarns and rust, branches, all of it, especially if it’s more or less in the same color family. Yes please. Ok.

What is on top of your tree? Some clippings from my garden, in a spray shape. I think it’s a mix of boxwood and euonymous. On the adjacent wall I hung a rusted metal star and a yarn “snowflake” in macrame, which I have been trying like crazy to duplicate, because aren’t they cool?
We have a special foil star our little family has used for sixteen years, but too much nostalgia is painful for us right now, so we have consciously chosen to limit our exposure to it. Christmas is supposed to be joyful, and we cling to that for each other. We choose it, and we have been rewarded for the choice over and over. We will bring that foil star back out when the time is right. xoxo

What is your favorite Christmas movie? I love Elf so much! I also love Four Christmases. Hard to beat Robert Duvall worrying about sexual predators installing his satellite, you know? Plus all of Vince Vaughn’s vomiting. I also love a great version of The Christmas Carol. Lately my favorite is the Patrick Stewart effort. Gorgeous. 

Who is your favorite character from any Christmas movie? Clark Griswold (sorry-not sorry). His painful, stubborn, glorious optimism. His need for a spectacle. His simmering rage and blinders-on intensity. I identify with every bit of it. And at this exact moment I finally understand why my husband loves that movie so much. Hm.

Do you like eggnog or cider? Neither, really. I don’t drink alcohol, so plain eggnog might as well be a milkshake. Or a banana split, actually. And to me cider feels like Halloween. Give me perfect coffee every day of the year. Or chamomile tea if it’s bedtime. Maaaayyyybe some hot chocolate. 

Red or Green? Green, if we have to choose. But some fun shades of green, something different. With black and white and gold everywhere. (And throw in a little cranberry red, ha. It’s Christmas! We shouldn’t have to choose.)

Ham or turkey? Turkey, but really we have been evolving away from this big meal and enjoy it instead at Thanksgiving. Before my husband’s mother passed she had started a fun tradition of serving an Oklahoma-style crab boil at either Christmas or New Year’s Eve, and one day we will get back to that ourselves. (See above about too much nostalgia.) Our Christmas foods now are lots of handmade cookies and candies, baked breads, trays of meats and cheese (various ones: name that movie), crackers, olives, etcetera. We like it casual and relaxing. 

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both! Everything. Add doilies, crocheted yarn strands (because finger-knitting is a mystery to me), tassels, paper snowflakes, a small toy or package of candy, anything I can get my hands on. Layers. Ok.

Do you drive around and look at Christmas lights? Yes! As soon as they start popping up around town and beyond, we are driving around admiring them. We play scavenger hunts, take hot cocoa sometimes, listen to music, the whole shebang. We love to go with friends. We took our dog Klaus this year, but he was largely unimpressed.
If you explore downtown OKC, you cannot miss the chance to drive up and down Broadway. Automobile Alley is a glittering wonderland! Solid walls of Vegas-worthy lights. I love it. 

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What’s the best gift you have ever gotten? This is where I feel like Steve Martin in that classic SNL skit from the 70’s, the one where he is sitting in an armchair waxing poetic about his altruistic Christmas wishes, ranging from solving world hunger to healing all sick children and ending war… Then his mind wanders not subtly to much more hedonistic cravings. Because- both are true, right?
I once received a small brown paper bag from my youngest daughter, labelled with her own beautiful cursive, “brown paper packages tied up with string” and containing an embroidered handkerchief she had made for me. I loved it and still treasure both the gift and the bag! That was many years ago. This year my oldest daughter spent so much of her limited vacation time here at the farm, during that surprise trip from Colorado, and how can she know how much it meant to me? How can she know how long it will echo in my heart that moment when she sat on the couch and scooped me to her and said, “Sit here, let’s cuddle!”
Then. A few days later my husband nonchalantly invited me to look under the tree for anything still bearing my name (remember we’d been trading little gifts all week). I found one and opened it happily and just about fainted. 

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Do you put Christmas lights on the outside of your house? Yes! Every year. My husband always does this and I love him even more for it. This year he obliged my wish for strands of lights wrapped around my gigantic metal rooster statue, which I had just moved to the front door sidewalk. It. Is. GLORIOUS.  

Do you hang up a stocking? We do for the kids if they are here and for Klaus, our pup. Mostly edibles and small treats. I love my Mom’s tradition of filling our stockings with giant apples and oranges plus whole nuts, in the shell. Love that!

Where do you usually spend your holiday? Every year, in fact every holiday, our life is a chaotic mix of destinations and blended schedules with dozens of moving parts. Less so now than before, but we still are blessed with lots of friends and family, so we stay flexible and avoid anything that makes us feel more obligated than joyful. We believe any big holiday can last all month long (it really has this year), and as long as we are together we are pretty dang happy.

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What is your favorite Christmas song? Sting has an incredible Christmas album. My favorite song on it is If On a Winter’s Night. Go listen. xoxo

Do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better? Please refer to my Steve Martin story. Because I would normally say GIVE! And then I would open a Garmin Forerunner 35. So.

When do you start getting excited about Christmas? Honestly? Around the middle of September. The older I get the better I adjust my energy and organization, so the more I enjoy all of it. By Thanksgiving I am already worrying the next month will go by too fast.

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That was so fun, thanks Tara! I am signing off now to put the finishing touches on chicken tortilla soup for my baby sister who should arrive any time. She requested it. We are having cranberry-almond biscotti and browned-butter pecan sandies for dessert.

Merry Christmas Eve-Eve-Eve, friends! Go make some memories.

“Are you surprised to see us, Clark?
Eddie, if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet
I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.”
XOXOXOXO

 

creamy coconut-pumpkin soup with chicken

A few days ago my friend Meredith posted to snap chat an intriguing soup she had discovered at her office’s cafeteria. She raved over the soup’s deliciousness, vowed to crack the code, and hooked me. I stalked her snaps and Facebook until, on a particularly bitter cold afternoon this past weekend, she reported having deduced the recipe and thereby warmed her house and tummy. We saw each other at a holiday party shortly afterward and she offered some details.

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Thank goodness for friends who are adventurous and love to cook! Because, dear reader, I have a new favorite: Creamy Coconut-Pumpkin Soup with Chicken. It is as weird and perfect as you might expect, and although I just yesterday inhaled this glorious food for His-and-Hers Soup Night at the Farm, I already cannot wait to make it again. So good.

I actually, literally, no joke, licked my bowl clean. Not sorry. Also, three cheers for using Christmas china on weeknights as often as possible.

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The building blocks for this simple luxury are pumpkin puree and coconut milk, with plenty of unusual (to me) spices, add chicken breast (because protein!). The recipe came together fragrantly in less than the time it took to make chicken and dumplings for my guy, and I suspect it would do well in a slow cooker, too, which you can bet I’ll be trying soon. 

If we gotta do winter let’s do it cozy, okay? OK. And let’s not skimp on vitamins and fiber. OK. 

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What You Need:

  • olive oil
  • salt, black pepper, garlic powder (optional)
  • ground cayenne pepper, turmeric, ground ginger, curry if you have it (I did not)
  • 3 celery stalks, diced, and a few cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 can pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup of coconut milk
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 fully cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast

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What You Do:

  1. Sautee the celery and garlic till tender, adding spices as you go.
  2. Add the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Spice again, to taste.
  3. Add the fully cooked chicken and stir, taste, season, etc. It is ready to eat when it is all blended well and tastes good to you.
  4. Devour it all guiltlessly, knowing you are providing your hard-working body with gorgeous phyto-nutrients, hefty fiber, immunity-boosting spice, and that ever-important protein.

Other Gorgeous Ideas:

  • Add roasted pumpkin seeds. (I forgot we had a can of these in the pantry!! Would have been so nice and crunchy.)
  • Add lime juice.
  • Include some onion with your garlic and celery. The Lazy W is “not in the onion business,” as my Grandpa says, due to an allergy. But I know all about the cooking trinity.
  • Roast or saute some diced fresh pumpkin and let that simmer and soften more in the liquids. Mer said her original bowl of soup featured this and it was delicious, tender like cooked potatoes. Yum! I will try this soon. In fact in my kitchen right now is one final pumpkin from our Lazy W pumpkin patch that needs to be used. Destiny.
  • Drizzle the finished soup with a little extra coconut milk.
  • Fresh basil, yaaaaasssss.
  • shrimp instead of chicken? Maybe…

Things I Adore About This Soup:

  • It fills you up. Thoroughly. It is immensely satisfying on a cold, hard-working winter day. 
  • The creamy decadence is achieved with neither butter nor heavy cream or anything like that. I am a coconut milk convert.
  • The spicy heat was a welcome reprieve from so many standard savory flavors lately. Perfect for when you crave something different but not something too different.
  • It’s sweet without being sugary.
  • Back to the bowl-licking: fewer dishes to wash!
  • It’s a fast weeknight recipe if you have the chicken already cooked, and you can make it in small batches like this or just add cans and make more. Easy! I love that. 

Thank you, beautiful Mer, for sharing your soup discovery and for doing the leg work of cracking the code! I am obsessed. My mouth actually watered while typing this blog post. 

Have a cozy week, friends! I hope your final days of Christmas prep are clicking along joyfully.

XOXOXOXO

 

jocelyn’s amazing colorado tiger butter

This past week, since writing to you guys about our recent feast on Soul Cake, we have feasted on the glorious stuff even more. Our oldest surprised us with a visit home from Colorado, and now she is home again, back in Colorado. She is at home with herself, really, and with her sweet pup Bridget, but that is a whole other blog post. Anyway, to say that Christmas came early to the Lazy W is quite an understatement.

Today, while the details are fresh, I want to share with you a recipe she taught me this week: Tiger Butter. You just might find it useful for an upcoming holiday party! Then soon, more Soul Cake stories, because my gosh… xoxo

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Background: The Girl worked a brief stint at a well known candy shop, The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. While there she learned all kinds of great tricks and secrets about candy making and has been eager to share it all. Most notable to me is how she learned to measure ingredients by weight, not volume. I had read a little about this in Julia Child’s book My Life in France but never really considered the practical differences until Jocelyn stood in front of my Oklahoma stove puzzling out her chocolate-peanut butter ratios. After a few moments she declared with that signature doe-eyed confidence, “We’re just gonna eye-ball it.” Okay! And it turned out so good.

Tiger Butter is a bark-style candy flavored like Reese’s and named for its stripes, which you achieve by dragging a knife through contrasting flavors/colors of molten yumminess. It has precious few ingredients and comes together more easily than I expected. Tiger Butter is so rich that you must nibble it slowly, in tiny cold pieces, so a batch seems to last forever compared to, say, a big heap of chunky oatmeal cookies that can double as a meal for yours truly. According to Joc, and I heartily agree, a mouthful of Tiger Butter requires a chaser of ice cold milk. I would suggest strong dark coffee too, but the combo of high sugar with high caffeine might be… Shaky.

Okay.

What You Need:

  • 2 microwave-safe bowls, one medium and one small (Yes, you could certainly do this stove top instead.)
  • a shallow freezer-safe dish lined with waxed paper (we used a petite glass one, somewhat smaller than 9 x 13)
  • about 2 cups your favorite peanut butter (We used just less than half of a 28-ounce jar of Peter Pan smooth. She said crunchy is also delicious if you like added texture.)
  • 1 bag white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 bag your favorite chocolate chips to supplement the white chocolate (I think she chose semi-sweet. This was part of the confident eye-balling in lieu of weighing out the ingredients, so you should do the same, knowing that this chocolate will blend with the peanut butter and white chocolate flavors.)
  • up to but not necessarily a whole bag of dark chocolate chips (for the top layer)

That is a lot of richness, right? Straight peanut butter and at least two bags of chocolate chips. But to my surprise you need neither butter nor evaporated milk like with pralines, no eggs, etc. Tiger butter is a rich, dense, straight to the point, focused indulgence. A lot like my girl, if you ask me.

Okay.

What You Do:

  1. Line the shallow pan with waxed paper and set aside.
  2. In medium bowl, combine peanut butter, white chocolate chips, and extra chocolate chips (as needed) then cook in the microwave, stirring occasionally, melt some more, get it smooth and shiny. (Joc said the proportions should be approximately 1:1 peanut butter to chocolate, but she also tasted it and adjusted between melting sessions. You can scarcely make this wrong so no worries.)
  3. Pour this pale colored lava into your prepared dish/pan. Admire the sheen and the shimmer. Set aside.
  4. In smaller bowl, melt the dark chocolate to the same glossy gorgeousness.
  5. Dollop this second chocolate onto the pale layer gently, maybe on alternating sides. Think of this step as your chance to be creative. You are staging the origins of your stripes.
  6. Now use either a butter knife or a toothpick or a chopstick (something more delicate than your finger, though you will be tempted) to drag slow, deliberate lines from one dollop to the next, leaving drag marks as you go. Drag all the way across the pan then start again, going in opposing directions. Again, get creative and have fun! Joc said she once drew her name in the chocolate. So somewhere out in the world a stranger has enjoyed handmade chocolate with my daughter’s name frozen in the face of it. If you move in an even, checkerboard pattern your dark chocolate layer can achieve a feathery effect, which is beautiful.
  7. Once you like the look of your creation, place the whole thing in the freezer for a couple of hours. It will harden nicely without changing design at all. Later, if you lift it out by the waxed paper hammock, you can then cut it uniformly with a sharp knife or break it into irregular, craggy shapes. It packs great for gifts or a potluck party or a dessert bar, whatever your plan. Remember a little of this rich treat goes a long way!

That’s it! Some chocolate chips, some peanut butter, your microwave and freezer, and a little time. You will be elbow deep in homemade candy and also have a cool connection to the Rockies and my beautiful firstborn.

Thanks for checking in, friends. I hope your December has been filled with surprises and miracles like ours. I hope you try making your own Tiger Butter! And I hope to see you here again soon. Lots more fun stuff on the horizon.

Be sweet
XOXOXOXO