Trip on I-94

Nothing says the holidays are here like traffic on I-94. Thankfully, we can't say that we had too many complaints this Thanksgiving. I remember past years being much worse -- when we either had to fly in or drive all the way through Chicago to get home.

Our American concept of distance is far different than that of others (namely our European counterparts). We don't consider a 4-5 hour car trip to be that out of the ordinary for a weekend trip. In fact, many of us choose to live that far away from family allowing us to be close, but not too close. And while, driving that amount of distance in a weekend may not be optimum, people do it all the time.

I don't remember that being so much of the case during the time I spent in Sevilla. A weekend trip to Madrid would have been planned for months. You also, rather than driving, would have either taken the train, plane or bus. Families all seem to live within a much closer distance to each other. In many senses, I really enjoy this. It's nice to know that from wherever you are, family is just 15-20 minutes away.

Pm and I have been moving closer and closer to my family. We went from Florida, to Michigan to Illinois. While I don't see us getting much closer than we are now, the ease of getting in the car for a quick visit spontaneously on a Saturday or Sunday is something that I could get used to.

What are your thoughts about distance and family? Hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.

Desperate times...

...Call for desperate measures. Yeah, whatever. We all know the expression. We've all been there before. Everyone has desperate times.

Tonight is one of those desperate times for me. No energy to get out to do things for myself; instead, I'd rather have someone else be doing my dirty work. And while I am not a huge fan of this, I think it will all be worth it.

Now that I have either thoroughly bored you or intrigued you, I will tell you what the desperate measure is. (cue drum roll) I need ice cream. Not just ice cream, but an ice cream sundae. Not sure why on earth I have such a craving, as it is cold outside and normally any type of ice cream will do. I know in my post yesterday I listed all the things that I am grateful for. I left off my #1.

In my desperate times, pm is always there. While ice cream doesn't always qualify as my most desperate of times, bless his soul ... he's making an ice cream run for me right now.

The fact is this "run" has me laughing. Just a few short years ago, I never would have dreamed about going on an "ice cream" run on a Friday night. Nope. It was cheap beer all the way. Oh, how we've grown...

Round and round we go...

I have been a gosh darn awful blogger these past weeks. Sadly, I haven't even had time to think about this space. That makes me sad, because is one of the spaces that I really enjoy. I like being able to unwind my day with writing about something and posting a photo.

Instead, now we all go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. This is where perpetual sleepiness comes in. I have been trying to get up earlier every morning to get things done for the day. So far, no good. Then again, that is what weekends are for, right? To finish all the things you didn't have time to do during the week.

Well, yes and no. Yes, I always seem to do all the chores and catch up 'on life' during the weekend. And, I hate it. I would prefer for the weekends to be chore free. I'd much rather have my free time on the weekend be spent on the things I actually want to do. This does not include washing floors, cleaning dishes, vacuuming, dusting....etc. We live in a small apartment and I feel like I am always in need to tidy up the nursery.

I am done complaining..... for now.

As we approach our day of thanks, I want to take a moment to reflect on all the things I am grateful for.

#1 Family & Friends. Couldn't have asked for a better, even if they are oceans away...

#2 Art. It has a way of expressing everything you want to express without words. This is, of course, very true of photography.

#3 Baking. I've said it once, I'll say it again. It is therapeutic. And, delicious.

#4 Beer. A strange thing to be thankful for, but it is something that brings out our creativity. Naturally, I like to drink it. However, I almost prefer to think about all the crazy batches and recipes we can conger up.

And that is my weekly round-up. Tonight I feel like this photo -- around and around I go....

coconut macaroons

Apparently all the rage in Paris centuries ago, these cookies are pretty epic.

I found for them to be a very simple (more simple - believe it or not - than my one-bowl chocolate cake recipe) and great treat to whip up for company or parties.

I also just have to mention that these cookies are extremely low-cal compared to many other sugary sweets. Not that I particularly care, but it does help when your conscience weighs in as you go to grab another 1-2 for taste :).

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

2 2/3 c flaked coconut

2/3 sugar

1/3 flour

1/4 t salt

3 egg whites

1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325F. Stir all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and drop mixture (teaspoon sized) onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 mins, or until edges are light brown. Bon Appetit! [You can also garnish with chocolate. Melt chocolate and dip cooled cookies until the mix. My preference = dark chocolate.]

bird or fish?

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to truly have a bird's eye view. We often get a glimpse of what it may be like when we are in a tall building looking down or on an airplane. This is just a glimpse. You don't get to control your movements, your height or your direction.

This brings me to a question I often thought about as a kid: If I could be a bird or a fish what would I choose?

I couldn't ever decide which I would prefer. I love to swim and have always been drawn to the water. I think it would be fascinating to see all the underwater wonderlands and to explore the depths of the sea unknown to mankind. On the other side, it would be awesome to fly. To come and go as you please and to be able to choose how close or far you wanted to be to the world. Ultimately, I think I would choose flight.

What would you choose?

Mums the word.

Mum isn't the word, just the flowers in this picture.

I don't have any secrets. Well, I take that back; I have plenty of secrets. None of which are exciting enough to keep you at the edge of your seat while you continue to read. sorry.

I actually try to not have too many secrets. I am really good at keeping them, but I cannot say I have a whole lot of my own. I will openly admit, I do not always make the bed in the morning. I definitely do not always (gasp) do the dishes every night. And, I sneak sweets like none other.

Yeah, as I said before - not that exciting.

What is exciting though, is that we got a new camera. The photo above is the first one we'll putting out on the internets. It was taken with a Gakkenflex that we got from Maker SHED. It look pm a good hour to put together and it will certainly take us longer to decorate it so that it truly is ours.

The style reminds me of my all-time favorite -- the Holga. You will certainly see more to come from this fine piece of technology. ;)