#tbt that hits me right in the heart...

May 19, 2016 Arlene Giddings

where, where, where has the time gone?

our gap toothed little blonde diehard twisted sister fan
with a mouth full of chewing gum
and heart full of sweetness,
all sassy attitude and devil horns...

our big-headed boy
with the eyes so dark brown they looked black,
pudgy hands and big chubby cheeks,
all rough and tumble
and baby talk...

it blows my mind...it seems like yesterday.

i read somewhere when the kids were little
that the
days are long,
but the years are short...
and it is so gawd damn true
it hurts my heart a little...

but they also make me so unbearably happy today
all kinda grown up and still so sweet, still so funny...
still all devil horns and rough & tumble -
{but now emma has all her teeth
and campbell doesn't fall forward
when running because his head is too heavy}.
:) :) :) :)

tuesday truths and chicken fricot...

May 17, 2016 Arlene Giddings

I don't like to cook. Not normally.
Usually Stirling does most of the cooking
and by most...
I mean most.
If left to me, supper would generally be
sugary cereal with
more sugar added....
or toast
with butter
and brown sugar.

But I do like to make chicken fricot
or what I consider to be my version of chicken fricot.
In my non-vegetable loving world,
chicken fricot is chicken, potatoes and chicken broth...
no dumplings, no carrots, definitely no turnip...
lots of salt and pepper...and maybe, a little more salt.
Onions are ok now (not so much when I was a kid).

Chicken fricot makes me think of my grandmother's
teeny-tiny house that was always filled with kids
and where we jumped on the bed
and ate home cut french fries (if one of the boys would go
to the basement to get the potatoes)
and meat pies
and ice cream
while watching the carol burnett show
and cable tv (a luxury we did not have at home).
When my grandmother wasn't holding one of my many,
many younger cousins, she was knitting...or cooking...
or laughing...or all of these things at once.

When I make chicken fricot,
I think of her english mixed with french and vice versa.
I think about how she was the most down to earth person
I have ever known....and how, even though there were SO
many of us, she was always able to remember the little things...
when I would come over she would let me go out to my
uncle's room to read archie comics and color in peace...
she remembered what we liked, what we didn't.
And she listened when you were telling her something...
like...really listened...really heard you...
even with so much going on all the time.

So yeah, I like to make chicken fricot.
:) It'll never be hers but it always makes me feel better.

tuesday truths...

May 10, 2016 Arlene Giddings

♥ i am addicted to these powdered sugary
lemon filled clouds of really-not-good-for-you
but so damn good doughnuts from superstore.
they remind me of the lemon filled doughnuts
tim horton's used to make but don't seem to
anymore.

♥ i hung out with my mom on saturday
and we spent some time looking at plants
and flowers and planning vegetable gardens
and talking about youtube videos
of "why-didn't-i-think-of-that" gardening hacks.

i came home with 3 tomato plants even though
it felt early to buy them
and even though
i wasn't sure if they would survive the cats
but so far, so good.

i would like to grow some yellow tomatoes...
but am not really sure where i can find plants for them...
anyone have any ideas?
or suggestions for other tomatoes to try?
or hints on how not to kill them?
maybe it would help if i named the plants...
or wait...do you only talk to houseplants?

♥ speaking of cats...
i have this box under my computer desk
that i use to put my feet on while editing...
the top of it broke as you can see
and it has become finnegan's favorite hiding place...
except...
the tail is a dead giveaway.
my pets are weird...and
maybe not all that bright.

a perfect mother's day...

May 8, 2016 Arlene Giddings

this has been a perfect mother's day.
i slept in,
had breakfast made for me,
spent some time finishing up
my "new work/playspace"
and then...got presents!
stirling & campbell got me
the pink and black polka dot rubber boots
that i have been coveting forever
and emma got me
a purple bag
filled with the cutest stuff ever...
kitty cat post it notes,
scented markers shaped like bears,
a twisted fairy tale coloring book...

and then, we picked up a bucket of KFC
and headed to my mom & dad's for supper...
it's not that often that all
four of us are in the same car
so, that alone, was a great part of my day...

emma fell asleep on the drive back...which didn't stop me from taking selfies with her... :)

there is nothing i like more
than seeing my parents...
making plans to go to cabot trail
this fall,
sharing garden ideas,
eating KFC,
making height jokes at my dad's expense,
talking about when we were small...
this was the best way to finish my mother's day.

if there is anything that my mom taught me
it was that love
is unconditional.
no exceptions, no substitutions,
no excuses, no denying it....
love is unconditional.
no matter what,
i knew they were both not always just
there for us
but behind us every step of the way...
the biggest and best supporters
we would ever have.

happy mother's day, mom!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

5 good things on a tuesday...

March 29, 2016 Arlene Giddings

it's been a great 6 days off...i'm a little sad to see it come to an end...
and kind of wish it didn't end in a snowstorm! :) but it was a great 6 days regardless...
full of farmer's market & chicken fricot...movies and books and blankets...
a brand new heater for our bedroom that makes me ridiculously happy (AND it's purple!)
feeling better...which means enough energy to hit 10000 steps (and a renewed love of my fitbit!) I just realized you can "challenge" your fitbit friends...this adds a whole new level of fun!
and love that I was able to meet up with an old friend for a walk on a mild day in one of my favorite spots...i love spring!

lots of time to play with the bullet journal...

and Easter was great...it's different now...
obviously, with a 20 year old and a 16 year old.
there are no bright colored rainboots and
sidewalk chalk...
usually, now...there is a hangover
and mcdonald's breakfast
but always an easter egg hunt...
i don't care how hungover you are
(and my parents will certainly attest to
watching me look for jelly beans "the morning after")
it's a rite of passage in my family.