My Favorite Restaurants

I was tagged by Jenny W in a "dining meme." I guess I don't read enough, because I don't know what "meme" means. But anyway, she listed her Top 5 Restaurants, so here are mine. My list was different before there was a child in my life. Now they consist of mostly quick stops that are light on the wallet. (PS. I realize I'm breaking some rules. See Jenny W. for the real rules for those who follow suit.)

Baja Burrito/Blue Coast Burrito - The food is amazing, healthy & cheap. Plus, I know Nan quite well & I have the secret "Light Ranch" recipe.

Calypso Cafe - The only place where I don't have to bring Ethan's food with me. You must try the Lucayan Salad. Or the Beans & Three. Or the Black Bean Salad. And the fruit tea.

Yellow Porch - Love the waiter, Shon. The food is unique, fantastic & they have great specials. Looks like my food is all within a single block, huh?

Wild Oats - Not really a restaurant, I know. But this is the only other place where I can take Ethan for a good cup of soup & see for myself that the food is dairy & egg-free.

Frothy Monkey - A nice little local coffee shop with some great salads. And high chairs.

Now these folks have been tagged. Your turn, Ladies.
Amanda C.
Moriah F.
Jenni D.
Christine A.
Libby S.

Spaghetti

I think he liked the Spaghetti.

Fundraiser - Cooking for Kenya

Climb Nashville has just begun the search for recipes! We're putting together a cookbook, as a fundraiser for Made in the Streets. The cookbook will be compiled church-cookbook-style, and consist of Vegetarian & Vegan recipes. If you read this regularly, you know that we are not vegan, but because of food allergies, many of my recipes happen to be vegan. And many gym members are interested in healthy eating. Here's a few of the recipes so far: Black Bean Quinoa, Vegan Vegetable Lasagna, Spinich Salad, Yosemite Burritos...

The only way this cookbook will see the light of day is if we get enough recipes! If you have something you could submit, please let me know! This will be primarily gym members, but the more recipes, the better it will be! Funds from the sale of the cookbook will help children in Nairobi, Kenya.

Google It

You know you've Googled yourself. So spill it...Found anything interesting? Or want to brag on something you've done that's posted on the web? I'm giving you permission to do so, right here...My namesake is a Romance Novelist. Pretty cool, right?

Local Fruits & Veggies

I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself. Next week we’ll be full-fledged members of a CSA. Every week, we’ll get ½ bushel of locally-grown fresh fruits & vegetables delivered to a location of our choice. Local foods mean less fuel in the transportation from food around the globe, and sustainability for local farmers. But most importantly – the taste!! Fresh-picked food that lands on my table the next day – YUM! The Barefoot Farmer got high marks from a friend, but I ultimately chose Avalon Acres because also offer blueberries, meat, eggs, bread & cinnamon rolls (yum!). Pictured above are some of the portions for other members.

Looking for Kid Tunes

I'm a music fan who's not eager to transition from my music to "kid music." That's why this Top 20 list looks interesting to me. However, I feel the time has come for E to begin learning "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider." So here I am, turning to you guys for help. Does anyone have any suggestions for music that's not too over the top? I'm specifically interested in the classics, like above songs, "Old McDonald had a Farm," etc. Thanks!

Behold, Our New House!

If you know us well, your jaw will drop, or you’ll simply roll your eyes at the fact that we are moving once again. Yes, it’s true. And yes, it’s crazy. But I’m so excited about our new place. Starting today, we’ll be playing musical houses until we finally unload the PODs at our home mid-June.

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep up my posting, but I’m just not sure how this will work. Right now, blogging is easy to do during my morning breakfast, but not sure if I’ll be able to keep it up w/all the transition. Until then!

Facts about Food Allergies

Please read these facts about food allergies to gain understanding the problem affecting us & more than 11 million Americans. You or your child will likely be social situations with a person w/food allergies, since occurrences are increasing dramatically. Some people think the parents of allergic children are “overprotective,” but when you are risking a severe reaction, or your child’s life, you go to extremes to protect your child.

Food allergies kill more than 150 Americans each year and are responsible for 30,000 emergency room visits.


For reasons that scientists cannot yet explain, food allergies afflict more and more children each year. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of children under age five in the United States suffering from peanut allergies doubled.


The average American elementary school today has ten children suffering from severe food allergies.


There are currently no medications to cure or control food allergies. Strict avoidance of the allergenic food is the only way to avoid a reaction.


The most common allergens –peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy – are staples of our food supply and nearly impossible to avoid completely.


For some children, even small traces of allergenic foods, as little as a drop of milk left on a shopping cart from another child’s snack, for instance, can trigger life-threatening anaphylaxis.


Food allergy affects the entire community surrounding a food allergic child. Schools attended by severely food allergic children must take a variety of precautions – from sanitizing classroom toys to segregating dining areas to providing special medical staff and training – in order to safeguard their health.


Learn more at the Food Allergy Network here.

The Aly Report

We’ve had a blast with our niece & nephew are staying with us for a few days. Here are a few of the funny things that we've heard from Tessa (5 years.)

-“One time we saw a dead mouse…And one time we saw a caterpillar.”
-(while looking at the TV Preview Channel) “I need you to read me all the stuff…that is appropriate.”
-“Sometimes I have bad dreams that are part Narnia and part Starburst" (Star Wars).
-“When I do this (crouching on the floor), I’ve got to go to the bathroom….Or, I’m just sitting.”
-(after defiantly disagreeing) “Take THAT as an answer.”

And this one from Sam (11). “Bread is my favorite food group....Besides Sugar.” Me too, Sam...Me too.

Teach or Attend a Sewing Clinic?

I’ve been talking with Karina & others about our desire to resurrect the fine art of sewing. I could host once a month sewing clinics, and 4-5 ladies could bring machines over & have a little sewing lesson during the day. I'll email you the date/time & it would be first come, first serve. We could split the cost of a babysitter (if you’re a mom) and we could have a couple of hours to learn some new skills. If you are interested in coming, post here & I’ll give you a call when we get this started. I've had 2 ladies from church to tell me they could help me with some sewing questions. You ladies are first on my list to call for teachers! If you would also be available to teach, please let me know!

And Today I Made...

Inspired by Amanda and the Wardrobe Refashion, I decided to make this very old & faded black t-shirt into a new top. I used this leftover blanket binding, which was too small to use for another baby blanket.

New Top = $0!

Musical Genius

I'm proud to say that my brilliant son has mastered the recorder. Well, really just one note. But anyway, he raced around the house playing his one note & I could barely catch a picture!

Last night was the first time he went to bed without dinner. Wouldn't touch anything on his plate, so I didn't make him any alternatives. He's up this morning, and doing just fine. For those who wonder if our kids will still live without their supper...

PS. favorite word this week: Truck

I Love…Products for Kids w/Allergies!

Here are 3 great products that will help me & other allergy moms rest easy when our child is in the care of others, or next time we go to a birthday party or church potluck. Any graphic designers want to help me design an allergy t-shirt? I like the t-shirt idea below, just not the design. Seriously. Anyone?

1) Drink labels from BumpyName. Standard named labels available, or print your own with allergy-specific info.
2) This or this t-shirt, perfect for times when the kid is just out of sight. I wish I he wore this yesterday, when an unknown mom was sharing food w/him at the park. Grrr...
3) Stick Mabel's Labels on your kids drink, bag or food to help spread the word to caregivers.

It Pays to say Thanks.

As a small-biz owner, I understand the value of a “Thank you. Well done.” I also understand the value of “I had a poor experience with your business. Here’s what happened & my opinion on what could have been done better.” So I try to give feedback when it applies. I want to share 2 of my experiences & say that you never know when it will pay you back!

I bought a very cool Bondi Band during the Race Expo last week & wore it during the Half. I later emailed the owner, with my race photo, and told her how much I loved her product! She said if I let her use my photo on her site, she’d send me 2 more, for free!! Cool, huh?

My second story revolves around a very bad experience I had with KodakGallery.com. I love them & they always do a great job, but they misplaced my Christmas photos (sent in actual 35mm film.). They eventually found them, but a series of poor customer service situations left me very unhappy. I emailed the company, recapping my experience in detail & telling them how I felt it should have been handled. They gave me a credit for 100 free photos!

The reason for telling businesses should not be because you think you’ll get free stuff. But I know that business owners love hearing positive feedback. Also, they would much rather hear your negative experience firsthand & have an opportunity to correct it, than for you to tell 8 people all about your bad experience.

What's a BBF?

I guess it’s a term I made up – BBFs are my Best Blogging Friends. Sometimes they are folks that I know quite well. Sometimes they are people I know only through blogging. If you’ve ever posted on my blog, you’ll end up in my BBF list. Speaking of, if you don’t want to be on the list, please post here, and I’ll remove your link & comment. No problem. I know we all blog for different reasons, and I totally understand folks wanting to stay more private. My list is growing, as I have several people I need to add. When the list becomes too long, I may have to edit it down to only the folks I have phone numbers for, or something like that. I’m not quite sure what will happen when that day comes. In the meantime, thanks for being my BBF!

Fair Trade Gifts for Mom

Feel good about the gift you buy Mom next week. Fair Trade empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace. Here are some awesome gifts that you’ll feel great about buying.
First, there’s this Vietnamese bowl or this Kenyan basket from A Greater Gift.

Of buy her something beautiful she can wear, like this necklace from Mercado Global. Or this shirt from Fair Indigo.Or buy her some coffee from Dean’s Beans.

And don’t forget, you can shop locally at 10 Thousand Villages for tons of beautifully crafted fair trade items.

Minnie Pearl Curtains

I just found out that it was actually Minnie Pearl's curtains that I wore to church today. (See post 2 days ago.)

Write a Children's Book!

In honor of Goodnight Moon’s 60th anniversary, you can submit your own children's stories for this Bedtime Classics Contest. Winner receives a $1,000 Gift Card, a library of classic children’s books from HarperCollins, a Johnson's Baby gift set, and the coolest of all – your tale will be illustrated and printed in a limited editio! Even the bad stories reap rewards - For every entry received, a copy of Goodnight Moon will be donated to Reach Out and Read, a non-profit that promotes early literacy. Lets get started!!

Man, The Learning Curve is Rough.

I’ve been dreaming about what to do with some old drapes that had a very cool pattern & cool yellow, just perfect for spring. This J. Crew dress inspired me to action. As simple as it looks, I could not find a pattern to make a longer version of this dress. So, I used this pattern.

So far, I’ve forgotten the zipper, thrice sewed the fabrics backwards, gotten pen marks all over the fabrics, cut the fabrics much too large since the lady at the fabric store told me I was a size 10 or 12, according to the pattern, had to take it in 5 times. Hmm…It’s cute in an “Aww, you made that, didn't you?” sort of way.

So this dress belongs somewhere between a Success & a Failure.

I Love Playgroup

Every other week, E. gets to see his friends Brooks, Holt, McHaney, and Ava. We have lunch, the kids play, and the moms chat. This has been so wonderful for both of us. The kids get to see each other often & learn from each other, while we have adult interaction. These are great ladies, too. Heather bakes me sweet treats, Rachel taught me to sew buttonholes, Danielle brought me a book for allergies, Amy & I share friendships with the Lewises. It has been such a joy to get to know these girls & their babies. Thanks Ladies! Pictured is the kids at the zoo yesterday. We missed McHaney & Rachel.

Patty Starter Set

Last night’s Patty Griffin concert was SO good. And this now makes the 4th time I’ve blogged about her, and the 5th time I’ve seen her. In honor of the event, I’ve put together a Patty Starter Set. I can’t call it her Top 10, because I have about 40 Faves. Last night, she totally rocked out on “No Bad News,” which you know is unusual, if you’ve ever seen her play live. Often it's mellow throughout the show. Good news for folks in my neck of the woods – she plays again tonight, and is bringing a “Special Guest” (which probably means Emmylou Harris.)

Sweet Lorraine – Living with Ghosts

Change – Flaming Red

Christina – Flaming Red

Mil Besos – 1000 Kisses

Rain – 1000 Kisses

Top of the World – Impossible Dream

Useless Desires – Impossible Dream

Heavenly Day – Children Running Through

Up to the Mountain – Children Running Through

Burgundy Shoes – Children Running Through

Last Week I Made

2 more baby blankets for little girls who are coming soon! Here is the first one I made a couple of months ago.

Long & Lean - 15 Months

Just had the 15 month checkup today. It comes a surpise to me that our son is long & lean, because everyone keeps telling me he's so small all the way around. Weighing in at 21.5 lbs (15th percentile), he's hardly gained any weight in the past few months. However, he's 32 inches, which puts him in the 75% for height. Go figure. Also new this month - we've begun brushing teeth, which he LOVES. And his cutest word is "Bub-buh," for bubbles.

13.1

I’ve now knocked out one of my lifetime goals – I ran a half marathon today. In October, I had never run further than 3 miles. My original long-time goal really was to run the Boulevard Bolt, a 5-mile run on Thanksgiving Day. But running 4 miles was a HUGE mental & physical breakthrough for me. It really wasn’t that hard. So I ran 4. Then 5. Before too long, I was up to 8 mile runs!

So anyway, today I finally did it. 13.1 miles in 1:59. I’m very excited about my time. I didn’t really have a goal except to finish, but I thought it would be great to do it under 2 hrs, so I'm pleased. Mile 12 was very emotional for me - it was hard & I've trained so hard that it was a proud moment. I was close to tears a couple of times.

A BIG thanks to Mom & Lance, who gave me time away from Ethan so I could train. I so loved the time with my running partners – Rachelle, Renee, Kerry, Jen, Mason, & Josh. I’ve had the most honest conversations with those folks. Somehow, running with someone for an hour or more lends itself to some very frank chats. Thanks Rachelle for sticking with me throughout the run - I know you could have scurried on ahead.

I have had a blast running. But I’m also very glad to be taking a break. Much love & many thanks to those who have helped me accomplish this goal.

Identity Crisis

“What profession do you want to pursue?” My teacher asked at my public high school. “Well, I most want to be a mom,” I answer. [Insert Teacher Laughter here.] “You better marry someone rich!” To her, the idea seemed so old-fashioned & unreasonable.

Fast forward to today…I am now a stay-at-home mom. Despite my rugged exterior, I’ve always wanted to be a little June Cleaver.

But now, when someone asks what I do? I want to tell them I’m a successful marketing professional. Even though I haven’t worked full-time in a year & a half, I still attach this to my identity. It’s difficult to let it go…I loved my job. I was good at my job. I received accolades at my job.

I want to tell people what I did. I want to have a title, a business card & I want them to be impressed that I’ve achieved such greatness. For some reason, I want people to think I'm accomplished. Being a mom is the most important thing in the world, but for some crazy reason I also want the recognition that I feel a working professional gets.

Any of you moms go through this? You still see yourself as a nurse, an accountant, a teacher, although you have no intention of returning to this profession?

So here it is - I am Carrie. I am a housewife, a homemaker, a stay-at-home mom. Maybe I’ll create a business card with all of my new titles: Nanny, Cook, Seamstress, Professional Shopper, Food-Allergy-Specialist, Teacher, Driver. Hmm…I guess it’s a pretty lengthy list, huh?

Julia's Portrait of Ethan

I'm SO excited to show you guys the portrait that Julia Martin painted of Ethan. Isn't it FANTASTIC!!?? I -heart- Julia.

"I Love Thursdays"

I love…that Patty Griffin is loved by Emmylou Harris, Dixie Chicks, and even Kelly Clarkson. Did you hear Kelly's version of Patty’s “Up from the Mountains” last night?



And I love my perfect beach wares, which I'll be wearing all summer:
1) Patagonia’s Morning Glory Dress
2) Patagonia’s Highline Top
and 3) Beth Rodden’s Dream Catcher Hoodie

Today's Quote - Bono

"Look at what happened in Southeast Asia with the Tsunami. 150,000 lives lost to the greatest misnomer of all misnomers, "mother nature." Well, in Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it's a completely avoidable catastrophe."

Learn more about the ONE Campaign to end global poverty.

Ever heard of "Bakfiets?"

Have you ever seen anything like this? I saw this on a website, and have been trying to figure out what it is! I think it might be called a "bakfiet," but I can't tell...I may have just made that up. Anyway, I WANT ONE. Have any of you seen one of these or know anything about them???!!!

How to Live a Greener Life

Last week’s Newsweek featured an interesting article, called ”How to Live a Greener Life”. You can read the article, but here are a few highlights…

1) Sweat the small stuff: A faucet that leaks 60 drops per minute can add up to 192 gallons per month.
2) Do some green cleaning: Natural cleaners like borax and lemon juice are ecofriendly alternatives to regular chemical-based products. Check out eartheasy.com for basic household-cleaner recipes
3) Get rid of the excess: Companies can stop receiving mail meant for former employees by visiting ecologicalmail.org. For every former employee entered into the site's database, a company will avoid 100 pounds of waste in undeliverable mail. That's equivalent to one tree.

One Ingredient Foods – Recipes

When I first got married, I felt like I had to use a recipe and create some fancy elaborate food. (And most of the time it probably wasn’t even that great.) I could never find just a good way to cook fresh spinach – it was always some fancy recipe with 5 steps. But when I became a mom that all changed & I became fond of foods that were super-easy to prepare. Here are a few of my favorite ways to cook fruits & veggies. Just call for the main ingredient + something to spice it up…By the way, they are all good foods for little toddlers.

Steamed Spinach – 1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed, rinsed well but not dried. Place spinach in large pot. Cover tightly & cook over high heat until spinach begins to wilt, about 2 min. Toss with oil, season with salt & pepper.

Liz’s Applesauce – For a very large crowd, use 1 bag each of in-season apples (total of 3 bags). Golden Delicious, Jonathan & McIntosh make a good combination. Peel, core & quarter apples & place in a pot with about 1 inch water. Steam until soft (apprx 20 minutes) and then puree. For a smaller amount, add 2-3 apples into the bottom of a smaller pot. Then puree. Add cinnamon. Also, you can add sugar, but I never think it needs it.

Steamed Broccoli – Cut up broccoli & place in steamer basket. Steamer basket goes into a small pot filled about ½ inch with water. Bring to boil, lower heat & cover. Steam until it’s as tender as you like it. (10 minutes?). Ethan & I like it with a little salt & few drops of lemon juice. Lance likes it with ranch dressing.

Squash and/or Zucchini – Saute squash and/or zucchini in about 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Too much olive oil & it gets soggy. I usually do 2 squash & 1 zucchini for our little family. Flip occasionally until golden brown. Sprinkle in your favorite herbs, spices, garlic, or onion. I like garlic salt & onion powder.

Corn off the cob – Cut corn off the cob. (1 ear per person) Then sauté over medium heat in olive oil (or butter,) salt & pepper.

Ethan’s Sweet Potatoes – Poke holes with fork & cover with aluminum foil. Place it in a preheated 425 degree oven for about an hour, or until soft. Add a little OJ & coconut on top for your kiddo. Yumm….

Romans 12:3-8

In church yesterday, we discussed Romans 12:3-8, which talks about spiritual gifts & making sure we use them!

A while ago, I took a Spiritual Gifts Assessment test, which helps you identify your gifts by seeing what your natural talents & interests are. Here is a random one I found online.

Anyway, yesterday I was motivated to be more proactive. I feel like my gifts lend me more towards encouragement & serving. Take a look at the verse above. What are your gifts? How can we use them fir God & others?

Eric Volz on Dateline

Hey All. Just another Eric Volz update to tell you that he will be on Dateline. I think it's Sunday, but could possibly be Saturday.

Back in Blonde

Ladies & Gents, I'm pleased to announce that I'm Back to Blonde. Very excited, I might add. You might remember a couple of months ago how I posted (then deleted) all about my hair adventures, and how I was at that time sporting Color 5G. Well, today I've begun the transformation to blonde again. My favorite. I told you I'd be back. Remember? Ahh...feels so good. Next time you see me, I'll be gleaming with fake-blonde-girl-pride.

Climb Nashville – a funny YouTube skit

Since I’ve realized my BBFs consist mostly of people who I don’t own phone numbers or emails for, or haven’t spoken to in ages, I’ll start this post by telling you that we own a climbing & fitness center, Climb Nashville. In a very random series of events, we became business partners with Drew Sloss, who was a friend from college with whom I had lost touch. After lots of hard work & long hours, we opened in March 2005. The gym features lots of rock climbing, fitness equipment, abs & yoga classes.

Okay, so here’s the point of the post…Lance & Drew recorded a radio spot to promote an upcoming sale we’re doing for memberships. And Drew puts together the craziest little YouTube video to accompany the sound. Make sure to check it out…It's creepy when Lance winks.

Mexico

Where do I start? I’m now getting settled in from our vacation to Mexico, and I can’t wait to catch up on all of my BBF’s blogs. But first, here are a few highlights of our trip to Barcelo in Playa del Carmen.

Our trip to this all-inclusive resort was filled with great food and tons of sun. Since Lance is recovering from his 2nd surgery, we layed low off the water sports. But we did enjoy running on the beach, water aerobics, beachside yoga (okay, those were me), ocean big-wheels, good reads, holding lizards & exotic birds, and a trip to Coba. We had SUCH a great time.

As for traveling without our best little buddy? SO worth it. My sis-in-law kept E, and posted pictures on her (private) blog. That was SOOO nice to check in every couple of days & get updates. Yesterday E had the biggest smile on his face when we saw him. It made us super happy!!!

Anyway, it’s nice to be home. It’s also nice to be missed. No matter how great a vacation is, there’s no place like home.

strolling through playathose are our "ocean big-wheels," along w/some other ocean toys.here's us in the ocean for water aerobics - look close, you'll find mea home in coba that we visitedafter a dinner date, with our hotel in the background

Hola!

That's right, Laurie. We're fresh off the plane from Mexico. And we had the world's greatest reunion with our little baby boy!!! More to come later...

Quilting Circles

How cool would it be to put together a friendship quilt?

Neatly folded in my parents’ house is a quilt that my grandmother made with her friends. Her square is marked with her name, Jewell, & the year, 1943. Although I never met her, I can learn a lot about her by the fabrics she chose, by the way she wrote her name.

I would love to do this someday. Gather a group of ladies – each putting together a square & piecing together a beautiful quilt like this. Maybe my BBFs & I can do this someday!

I’ve really enjoyed the beginnings of my sewing career. And I am so inspired by the work of Denise Schmidt and Amy Butler . Burda Style is also a very interesting sewing site.

The Cutest Little Helper

I love it when this little boy helps around the house. He loves to follow us around & help us do big grown up things.
Here's another picture that Rich Kalonick took. E's eyes are so cool - blue with brown in the center. I don't know if it shows in the post, but trust me - they're the coolest.

Free Ben & Jerry's

Okay, here's another uncomfirmed good deal. I hear that next Tuesday the 17th, Ben & Jerry's has a Free Cone Day! Make sure to swing by your local ice cream shop & enjoy!