Lazy W Marie

nineteen wishes

September 8, 2014

For my daughter, my first baby full of love and strength and light, on your nineteenth birthday, I wish you so much happiness. I wish you happiness in every form it can possibly take, from the physical to the spiritual, both fleeting and eternal. Here are nineteen wishes for you from your momma.

I wish you health and vitality, physical stamina and comfort
that carry you through any activity you choose.
(Thank you so much for inspiring me to run.)

I wish you a strong, healthy back and relief from allergies.

I wish you the confidence that comes from sensing your own magnetic beauty
without needing to diminish another’s. (You are so beautiful in every way.)

I wish you success in a million endeavors.
That you can earn all the money you want,
pursue any goal that crosses your fertile imagination,
and enjoy that strong, buoyant feeling of independence.

I wish healing for your Dad and with him.

I wish you peace in every direction you look.
That no bridges are ever burned unless it’s for your own protection,
that you see Love mending things on your behalf.

That your boundaries in this world are ever widening and stimulate your potential.

I wish you a lifetime of horses and all kinds of animal relationships.
Maybe even a career in this field if it’s your desire.

I wish you a never ending supply of drawing paper and pencils and paints.
And soft paintbrushes.

I wish you music that soothes you, music that motivates you,
and music that lifts your spirits.

I wish you miracles when you need to see them most,
so that you always remember God is near you and loves you.
And that His power is very real and far beyond what any of us can do for you.

I wish you healthy friendships of every variety, for every occasion in this wonderful life.
Lifelong friends, purely fun friends, supportive friends,
even friends who challenge you and help you polish off your rough edges.

Mostly I wish you a deep and abiding friendship with your sister.

I hope you travel. I hope you find ways to see the world while you are young,
explore places that move you, and find that place that clicks with your soul.

I hope you learn to cook extravagantly and can always feed yourself well,
infusing this necessary daily ritual with your artistic nature.

And I hope you always read good books. Let them transport you.

I wish for you deep and galvanized family bonds with all of your family.
I hope you never feel alone, always feel like you belong and are loved unconditionally.

I wish for you an incredible romantic adventure. True love.
Comfort, safety, and thrills that can only come with that rare and lasting relationship.

And I hope that even when I slip and say something that reveals
how you will always be my tiny little doe-eyed baby, you still understand
I see what a beautiful young woman you have become.
That I see you now as both a baby and a woman
and I will always love you, no matter what.

These are more than birthday wishes; these are my prayers for you as you step into an exciting new life chapter. Never forget how loved you are.

XOXOXO
momma

worm or pasta?

September 4, 2014

Earlier today I decided to bring all of my houseplants to the kitchen and bathe them in a special homemade concoction. It’s cooled pasta water (leftover from dinner last night) mixed with cooled coffee (leftover from this morning). I happen to believe it’s a magical combination and love to do this for my plants once in a while. Then I rinse them off and comb out the brown leaves and feel fancy.

Today something weird happened as I was putting the nourished, shiny plants back in their decorative urns. And I hate to upset you, but it was disgusting. Ok. Deep breath.

I was just standing there in the kitchen, thinking My god I am genius! Why am I even taking these master gardener classes? I have got this under con-TROL. Then I flashed a gang symbol to my own reflection in the microwave door and did the Dougie.

Then I grabbed another soon-to-be-flourishing house plant and it happened.

I saw a long, thin, limp, not quite brown, shiny something very gross hanging from the delicate branches of a croton. I froze. I had just eaten some raw oatmeal with milk and strawberries, and that was all threatening to make a reappearance.

What. The. Heck.

“What is it???!!!” I shrieked too loudly to the empty house. But I couldn’t look away. My face was lowered to the kitchen counter, staring with disbelief at this organic but probably not living item draped across my plant like the weirdest Christmas tree garland ever. I was afraid to breathe, terrified of vomiting right there on the freshly bleached everything. Then I thought, Oh sweet granola, if it’s alive it could be playing dead and might at any moment spring out at me! This was easily the worst moment of my day.

I took a slow step backwards and raised myself upright, breathing deliberately but not blinking. Not looking away from the unidentified gross adornment.

Was it an earthworm? Had I disturbed a soil bed in one of the plants and tempted an extremely long and extremely thin earthworm out of hiding? If so, that was the most disgusting earthworm I have ever seen. So thin. So long. And no head or seams or anything! Eww.

Wait, maybe that not a worm. Maybe… Could it be spaghetti? I had, after all, used the starchy water from last night’s dinner, so maybe one stray noodle had stowed away. And maybe when I added coffee to the bowl it soaked into the noodle and turned it light brown. Maybe I had unknowingly poured the noodle onto my plant.

So I found a long grilling fork and investigated from a safe distance. (And no, I’m not afraid of worms, but if one is playing dead then it is probably afraid me. Scared creatures are scary.) It never responded to gentle prodding, and I could never see any body parts that guaranteed it’s a worm.

I also never got stronger confirmation that it was a noodle.

This whole situation really upset my day. Then when Handsome got home I showed it to him and he recoiled. “What the heck is it?? That is not a noodle! That’s a butt worm.”

Oh boy.

Our animals are healthy. We are healthy. This was becoming quite a problem.

What do you think, fair reader? Please vote. We need to know. Keep in mind that I snapped this photo after the unidentified gross adornment had been out of moisture for about two hours. When I first made the discovery, it was ever so slightly… plumper. Paler.

I don’t know what else to say. Stray pasta noodle? Earthworm on the Paleo diet? Or a butt worm? And while I don’t want to influence your vote, I did eat an almost raw bratwurst this weekend. Handsome has already googled the whole situation and cast his disconcerting vote.

Eww.

spaghetti carbonara

September 3, 2014

Hello again! How’s your week so far? What’s on your dinner menu? If you have a blank spot and are looking for something quick to prepare, food that’s filling and energizing and undeniably delicious but not expensive, then I have a suggestion: Spaghetti Carbonara. Handsome and I both love this stuff. It’s comfort food you can cook in about half an hour and with pretty standard ingredients. Plus, it’s a great carb-loading meal. I have a long run scheduled for tomorrow, so this was perfect for tonight. And it’s so full of protein that it leaves you feeling full for a nice, long time.

spaghetti caronara — This spaghetti carbonara is fast, easy, and delicious!

What You Need:
1 pound pasta (Use your fave! I think this works great with angel hair & penne.)
1 pound bacon (cut the slices into thick chunks)
olive oil
minced garlic
2 large eggs
1 cup Italian cheeses (I like to split it between parmesean & mozzarella, the better the cheese the better the final dish, but the green cans of parm work just fine)
sea salt, pepper, nutmeg, & garlic powder if you really want it
so much fresh parsley

See? I love recipes like this that require only ingredients we almost always have on hand. Great for between grocery trips. Great for economizing a meal here and there. Great for feeding each other on busy weeknights between work, school, homework, sports, and everything else under the sun. Spaghetti carbonara is definitely something you could delegate to a sous chef capable of handling hot bacon. And no planning ahead is required!

What You Do:
cook the pasta in heavily salted water to al dente
while pasta is cooking, fry bacon chunks with minced garlic, season as you like (I add salt, pepper, & nutmeg at every stage)
in a small bowl whisk together the 2 eggs with the cheeses & more spices if you like, add a Tablespoon or 2 of olive oil to that
after draining the pasta, return it to your large pot
add the crispy bacon pieces to the hot noodles
add the egg-cheese mixture, working it through to distribute & allow the eggs to cook through
if it’s not slippery enough, if the noodles seem too dry, drizzle some bacon grease over it & continue working it through with forks until the whole pot has a similar coverage & the eggs are mostly cooked
garnish with lots of fresh parsley then devour

I think this dish is a meal in itself. It’s crazy filling with all the pasta, bacon, cheeses and eggs. Then if you add enough fresh parsley it breaks up the heft and savory flavors and you barely need salad. Your mouth feels satisfied and fresh. But that’s just me. I eat several tons of salad per week, so once in a while it’s nice to just fill up on the guilty stuff. And this recipe yields plenty. You’ll spend less than $10 and only about half an hour but still feed yourselves luxuriously.

What do you think? Is bacon on your menu soon? Are you okay with eating almost raw eggs? Tell me what you’re cooking this week. And how many miles are on your training plan. Tell me everything!

By the way, this post is dedicated to Shel Harrington, a fellow Oklahoma Women Blogger who recently shared a mouthwatering nod to National Bacon Day. She writes about marriage with wisdom and humor, and I appreciate her so much!

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,
if one has not dined well.
~Virginia Wolf
XOXOXOXO

morning has broken

September 1, 2014

We slept late today, not peering out the sunny windows until almost 7:30. I needed it. My mind, my body, my soul… Life is good and beautiful but sometimes very heavy, and the deep sleep has done wonders for me.

Soon I crept outside with perfect coffee, wearing my gorgeous new (thrifted) red satin kimono and snapped a few photos of the farm, this place we have made our home, these nine acres of natural wonder and animal fascination and unending work.

So much work, every where we look. But today is Labor Day, so Handsome and I are resting. We are pausing the long list of projects and chores and repairs in favor of repast and maybe a little romance. I’m hopeful that the deep refreshment of a good night’s sleep will carry over. My husband especially needs it.

Part of the reason we slept late today is that last night we partied late. It’s Handsome’s birthday weekend, perhaps you remember, and we had the farm filled with friends until almost midnight. It was wonderful! So much happy, loving energy floating around. So many laughs, so much food. Our hearts and full and our belies ache.

honey bees & passion flower vines — Can you see the tiny caterpillar on the passion flower vines? And the bees were in great big, beautiful clouds around me this morning. So enchanting. I actually believe they love me.

Last night I took a small group of kids and one lovely new friend out to see the bees. The sky was pitch black, only a crescent moon and glittering stars to barely light our path. So with a flashlight we all gazed at the bee hives coated in trembling, fuzzy creatures. The kids asked excellent questions and then on the way back up the garden path they harvested a dozen tomatoes and one eggplant in the dark.

eggplant in august — My eggplant & tomato bed is looking a bit scraggly but still hanging tough. Still offering us a slow, steady harvest.

faithful bachelor rooster — This is Lone Wolf, our bachelor rooster. He was rejected from the flock and has taken up with the humans. We love him. He followed me around this morning as I snapped photos.

zinnia in august — Zinnias are some of the few blooms still thriving here in the roasting late summer heat. I hope that all my life I can grow wild patches of these cheerful, colorful flowers.

horse & llama at dawn — Dusty is as peaceful as can be, getting nice and fat in the middle field. Romulus, on the other hand, is a nervous wreck on constant horse watch. You can barely see him there in the distance.

I am frequently stunned by the beauty we find here. Today it took my breath away. Big sweeping views, tiny colorful details. Fragrance, animal chorus, thrumming loving energy leftover from our friends and sustained by Love. There’s so much.

Happy Labor Day friends! I hope that if it’s your wish, you manage to pause all your heaviest work and just soak up the best things. Look around and see your life. Smell it. Taste it. Feel it.

Recharge.

XOXOXOXO

friday 5 at the farm: goose attack

August 29, 2014

Happy Friday! For this week’s edition of Friday 5 at the Farm, I thought I’d share 5 photos of geese (6 if you count the one of my arm) and tell you a little story.

A few days ago I was minding my own business, feeding treats to the very harmonious cats and chickens in our front yard, trying to catch a nice moment on camera, when the Gangsters (that what we call our gaggle) showed up and caused a ruckus. It was noisy and confusing and ended in violence. Violence directed at me. So, pride wounded, I posted the following photo to Instagram.

goose bite — A goose attacked me and I almost died. “That’s gonna leave a mark!”

All my internet friends were immediately on my side, declaring how scary and vicious geese are, and possibly evil, and how they can’t believe I probably need a tetanus shot and maybe amputation of the offended limb. Goose bites are horrible, right? Then I felt bad. Because, in retrospect, the Gangsters tried to warn me. I was just too caught up in catching a great photo of cats and chickens to pay attention. I’ll tell that part of the story with our Friday 5 photos.

Canadian gosling domesticated — Duck-duck, our adopted Canadian gander, approaches from the right while the hens make a graceful exit.

South African goose happy posture — The other five, the South Africans, enter the scene quickly but Mia in right in my face. See his different posture? This is a goose in love.

South African geese on high alert — This is where the tide turns. I was way too close to their beloved Duck-duck, as you can plainly see from the straight necks on Mama and the other three. Mia, as always, is still curve-necked and honking his love softly.

Gaggle of geese protecting their adopted baby — That’s Duck-duck still in the middle of it all. Mia is on the right, trying to protect me. I should have listened to him.

goose attack — This is Johnny Cash. He had enough and charged me, biting my tender forearm and not letting go for what felt like hours. (It was probably like ten seconds.) I screamed like a little girl and Mia honked wildly and Handsome came to my rescue.

That’s pretty much the whole story. Except that since Johnny Cash has tasted my blood (yes, it bled a little) his bullying has gone to new levels. I cannot go anywhere on this farm without looking over my shoulder. He honks with this particular tone of arrogance that just drives me batty. I woke up from a goose-related nightmare last night. He doesn’t even care.

I still love the geese, even Johnny Cash. Mia has to be careful not to show me too much affection in front of The Gangsters, but his heart still belongs to me.

The End.

Have you ever been attacked by a goose? Let’s have all the gory details.

We’re goin’ ballistic, Mav, go get ’em!
~Goose to Mav in Top Gun
XOXOXOXO

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