the unperfected perfectionist

As I stepped out of the shower this morning, I was surprised to find this waiting beside the sink... I couldn't think of a much better way to start my morning.  Emma always seems to sneak little things into my life when I need them most.  I am so incredibly grateful for the relationship that continues to blossom between us each and every day. The note that she left was written in a journal that we share together.  I gave her this unique journal last spring.   It is a journal between the two of us that we take turns writing back and forth to each other.  Most of the pages have ideas to journal about in order to learn more about each other and perhaps gain more insight about things that may not otherwise be learned or talked about.  It is always fun to find it waiting to be read and to write back.  Since we have moved, it had been tucked in a box waiting to be found.  Emma was so very excited to once again find this special journal we sh...

I can't believe it happened to me again!  More brown bananas!  I certainly hope this is NOT a sign of things in my life turning bad and rotting.  The funny this is, I do not even eat bananas or things made with bananas very often because they are too sugary.  Yes, they taste good and I enjoy them, they just don't work out with my body being a Type 1. So, today, I decided to bake some banana crumb muffins with my lovely bananas.  As I was making my muffins and brainstorming for this post, I thought I would toss out a "Funny Fact" about me.  Are you ready for this one?  I am sure by now, you have picked up on the fact that I absolutely love baking and it brings me such happiness.  Yes, I know, I am a total cheese ball!  Well, the "Funny Fact" that I am revealing about myself is that I have this pipe dream to one day own my own bakery.  I worked in a bakery for almost two years and loved it!  The drawback was total lack of sleep...

Good evening!  I am here to post my apple creation for you as promised. I decided to make my Grandma's apple crisp recipe. My Grandma was an incredible cook and baker.  I will share more with you  later about this wonderful woman whom I feel so lucky to have loved, laughed with and I could go on and on but, that is for another post.  I told myself to stay focused as I wrote this evening for I am so very tired and would love to go to sleep but, I made a promise to whomever may be reading this and I plan to keep that promise.  :)  Back to the apple crisp... It went something like this... I even decided to share Grandma's recipe with you that I tweaked ever so slightly.    Emma couldn't stop saying how yummy it was.  I hope you enjoy! Goodnight. 

It is already "hump day" today...or if you would rather put it into plain and ordinary terms, the midway point in the week.  So, here I am, feeling horrible that I didn't post anything yesterday.  It was a stormy and yucky, blah day here, as it was for many of you as well. I had intended on either making applesauce or apple crisp but, since I sat watching severe weather reports on T.V. for what seemed like hours...it didn't happen and the apples are still staring at me as I am typing this. Today, Emma has "early release" (she gets out of school one hour early...strange but, this happens every Wednesday and I love it!) so, we will be putting our apples to use as we spend some time together in the kitchen. She really wants to make caramel apples, which may indeed be another option.  Regardless, in the very near future, I will be making all of the above.  These pictures sum up the "blahs" from here in Cincy yesterday.... The sun is shining here a...

As promised, I am here to report my findings from yesterday.  I found a place that was a slight improvement from Saturday's letdown of the lack of fresh apples and doughnuts.  This fruit farm had that fabulous bakery smell that brings back so many memories of my favorite apple orchard back home.  I have learned that sometimes you just can't substitute a good thing.  Yes, this establishment had the things we had come searching for... just "different".  I don't always adjust to "different", very easily. Yes, the doughnuts were pretty darn close to the ones that I grew up enjoying each and every fall.  And, as I have not yet tried the apples, I am sure they are juicy and fresh and will produce some fine applesauce and tasty apple pie but, as I am typing this today, I am missing home greatly. Memories of places and people back home creep into my thoughts and my emotions take over. I am just being honest.  I rather b...

Good Sunday afternoon!  I hope everyone was able to enjoy the weekend.  We were able to enjoy some fabulous weather here in Ohio.  I will try to make this short and sweet.  Here is a series of photos to show what became of our pumpkins that we found at the less than exciting farm yesterday.  More to come later about where we went today and what we found!   The finished product  Well, here is what became of our pumpkins last night.  I have just one question for you all...does anyone just carve the old fashioned, free handed pumpkins anymore?  I kinda miss those myself.  Does that make me old fashioned?! 

Today, we decided to head out to a farm to get pumpkins. It kind of went like this...we came, we saw, we went.  I will just tell you that we are used to fabulous Michigan apple orchards that offer horse drawn hayrides, pumpkins, apples and wonderful bakery fresh doughnuts, pies and so on.  Here in Ohio, either we picked a less than exciting farm, or it is just different than what I have grown used to visiting every fall.  Another odd thing was going out to get pumpkins and wearing flip flops because it was 75 degrees!  I can't complain about that one bit!  Well, we were able to see a few animals, grab a few pumpkins and some cider and snap a few photos.  As far as the bakery fresh doughnuts or many varieties of apples to choose from...no such luck.  Here is what I have got to share with you... An unexpected surprise...cows cows... you wouldn't believe this...cows! The chicken coop The results of what became of our p...

First Day...not quite a smile Yesterday afternoon was our conference with Emma's teacher and I could not possibly be more proud!  I had no doubt in my mind what I would hear from her teacher when I sat across the table from her.  She is doing wonderful and on and on...music to my ears. This school year brought many new changes upon us.  First and foremost, moving to a new city, in a different state, far from anything we have ever known.  To me, this was a HUGE change to face.  This move also meant a new school for Emma.  I will admit 100% that I was terrified at the thought and even more worried about her having to begin a new school where there was not one familiar face awaiting as she set foot inside on that very first day.  To make me even more apprehensive, was the fact that she had to start this new school the following day after we moved to Cincinnati.  One more thing to add...her first day in school was actually the third week fo...

I can't believe it is Thursday already!  I am going to continue writing about things that I am thankful for each Thursday.  Last Thursday, I was thankful for the beautiful sunshine and it is shining bright as can be once again.  I love it!  Today, I am thankful for the ability to run.  I know, it may sound silly to some of you, but, I absolutely love to run.  This was not always the case.  In fact, it was only within the last 4 years that I have grown to love it more and more.  Running allows me to not only get some great exercise, but also allows me to kind of tune out the whole world for a few miles.  I am able to listen to my music, do lots of thinking, relieve some stress and anxiety that I may be carrying.  Running is like therapy for me.  Even on days that my body is sore or tired, a good run always leaves me feeling better.  Since I have moved to Cincinnati, my running routine has been knocked down the priority list ...

Good Wednesday Morning! Does anyone else celebrate "1/2 birthdays"?  Or am I the only one who makes sure that these days are never missed?  I started celebrating these halfway point milestones when my daughter, Emma, was little.  So, yesterday brought upon us her 7 1/2 years birthday.  I simply do not know where the time went!  My baby girl is now a little (not so much, at 4 feet tall) social second grader.  I absolutely love watching her flourish and grow with each passing day. I grow more and more proud of her every single day.  I will admit that part of me feels her slipping away at the same time.  As exciting as it is to see her become this sweet, caring & go-getting individual, I miss the days where she was home with me and able to be my partner, in a sense, in my daily routine.  She has been in school all day since the first grade and I have yet to fully adjust.  I have always enjoyed the special bond that we have nurt...

Happy Monday!  I hope that everyone was able to enjoy their weekend before today arrived and a new week is upon us again.  I had great hopes and ideas for starting something like "Motivational Monday" posts to share with you today.  Well, I am very much a planner and do not like when things stray off routine and my day goes a bit differently than originally planned.  This is something that I am trying to be a bit more relaxed about.  Anyway, this morning, I had to head to the local Meijer for some groceries and came home with not only lots of groceries, but also a headache.  Unfortunately, this happens more times than not.  I unloaded the groceries into the kitchen and my headache instantly got worse as I was trying to find places to put them and keep it in an organized and orderly fashion.  I moved into this house just over a month ago and the pantry and cupboards are feeling less than user friendly.  Enough of the explanation of my change...

Today, instead of a long winded post, I have just a few pictures to share with you.  We went to the Cincinnati Zoo for what they call, "Hallzooween". It was another beautiful, sunny day and I was so happy to be outside to enjoy it as I got my daily dose of the much needed Vitamin D.  The zoo provided trick or treating around the zoo, Beauty Shop of Horrors (this offered nail painting, tattoos & hair glitter), and of course some of the animals were given pumpkins of their own.  We happened to be passing by the gorillas just after they were given their very own jack-o-lanterns.  Gorillas just fascinate me because they are so human like.  I was able to get a few shots of them as I maneuvered my way through the crowd and up to the front...I am a bit vertically challenged which, in these types of situations, causes a bit more work to achieve my goal of a few decent photos of some very cute gorillas.  Once I downloa...

Have you ever had a day where you were inundated with choices?  In recent months, when I have been feeling like choices were not an option for me to be made, I was reminded today, that indeed, I, at times have more choices than I wish to make.  The realization struck me while I was on a routine trip to Target this afternoon.  I had my list of things that I needed and figured that I would be in and out of the store in no time flat...not a chance.   First, I stood before the Halloween candy and got completely overwhelmed as I stared at bags and bags of so many mixed up varieties.  Each time I picked up a bag thinking that I had chosen the right one, another one caught my eye. I am certain that I stood there for a full ten minutes before I decided that I had to make a choice and move on.  Finally, I threw two big bags of random candies into the cart and moved on.  I was relieved to have that choice behind me...until I reached the tissues....

A glimpse outside my window... No brown bananas to report this morning but, rather a beautiful sunny day!  Anyone who knows me even a little bit, knows that I love the sunshine!  I always feel so much better when the sun is shining.  I admit that I do not fair well when fall turns to winter and the gray cold and cloudy days appear....day, after day, after day and the sun seems to be in hiding or perhaps hibernation here in the Midwest.  As I looked out the window today and saw the beautiful sunlight cascading through the trees, which are beginning to take on their fall colors....I was gently reminded how thankful I am for the sun and the light it shines on me.  Today, I can push the gray days away and enjoy the warmth and brightness.  Enjoy your day and I hope that you,too,are able to see the  beautiful sunshine!

Lately, I have been feeling like life has certainly been throwing many difficult challenges at me.  As, I have been brainstorming beginning this blog, I never would have thought that my very first post would be about banana bread of all things but...When life hands you brown bananas...you most definitely should make banana bread!  This morning, I looked at the bananas sitting on the counter and one of my greatest passions,which happens to be baking, told me to feed my soul and bake banana bread rather than just toss them in the trash.  The Bananas That Life Handed Me The Finished Product Success! I am so glad that I was handed these bananas because I was able to indulge myself with what my soul was lacking...fulfillment!  Baking always fills my soul.  Today, as I was gathering the items to make this bread, I realized that I was short on the white sugar.  This shortage, allowed me to tweak the recipe for the better by using some brown sugar and th...