Adobo Cook-Off, Fire Pit and a Long Bike Ride

What a fun-filled weekend!

• Attended a Filipino food cook-off, Adobofest 2011, in one of the many forest preserves around Chicago. It seemed pretty well attended, but I heard there were four times as many entries as there were this year. More on this event tomorrow.
  

  Filipino Cook-Off Event: Adobofest 2011

• Used our fire pit for the first time. Told the kids this was a close to camping as we’ll ever get! I’ve never been camping. Ever. But I am open to the idea of putting up a tent in the backyard one nice summer night. Maybe next year?
  

  Roasting dinner over the fire in the backyard with the kids

• Abby’s soccer team won their game after a harsh season opener (they lost 8-2)!
• And I rode 50 miles in the North Shore Century Ride! Started with a lovely sunrise over Lake Michigan – but quickly turned into a rainy mess of a day. I was drenched by the end. Took me 4 hours and 25 minutes, and on somewhat spongy tires for the middle leg of 20 miles (Oops.). It was really fun, but I won’t lie – it was a lot of work in some spots. And, I’m not very athletic at all. This may be my one big athletic accomplishment to date.
  

  Sunrise at Lake Michigan - Dawes Park - Evanston, IL

  

  The eager cyclist - I'm so excited

  

  Morning registration

  

  Bike odometer reached 50 miles at Bahai Temple of Worship, Wilmette, IL

I’m ready for a relaxing week. Too bad it won’t be… always something happening around our here! *grin*

Have a great week everyone!

Tags: adobo, backyard, bicycle, Evanston, Filipino, Filipino food, fire pit, living, North Shore Century Ride

Snow Log 2011 and Random Winter Thoughts

Snow log, star date 2.1.2011, time 06:00: 2″-3″ on the driveway and sidewalks. Light to moderate weight. 38 minutes to clear. Hehe…

Sunday, I watched the morning news and was surprised when they forecasted 13″ of snow by Wednesday morning. This morning, I shoveled the drive before my husband left for work… so here we are, done with January awaiting the epic snow storm of 2011. Incidentally, it was also described this morning in the media as “snow in amounts of biblical proportions”, “snow-pocalypse”, and “snow-maggedon”. Told my kids we might have a snow day (or two) soon, and reminisced about the snow drifts and plow piles being several feet above my head. That was 1979, I was six. My uncle was stuck in his car for hours, afraid he’d run out of gas before getting home.  I can’t remember if he abandoned his car at one point. That was the deciding factor for him and my aunt to move to a warmer climate.

You know what’s easy to do when you’re outside before the crack of dawn and all is quiet? Meditate. Well, sort of. My mind wanders all the time. I’m surprised I even stay focused at all, sometimes. In the winter months, I get really introspective, thinking where am I going, where have I been. Life has been a tremendous ride so far, and I would have never guessed I’d be where I am.  2011 has so much opportunity, and I think my biggest lesson I’ve learned is that for every “yes”, there is a “no”. It’s like the big yin and yang, finding balance in the force, that sort of thing – something I’ve struggled with for a long time.

Well, with all the snow that’s coming our way, there should be more time to think about all that…

Tags: blizzard, random, snow, winter

Speaking at a Young Authors Workshop

Are we all tired of winter already? We’ve had a few weeks of completely BLAH weather here with little or no sunshine, but today… look at that bright light shining in the corner of the picture! Sunlight: it brings me to a happy place. This was taken at a Young Authors workshop for fifth grade students where I was invited to impart wisdom about beginner blogging. (I know, don’t laugh. I just started this gig, right? The hosts knew that, as did my friend who connected us.)

Two sessions at 45 minutes each… it went well, honest to goodness truth. And, I have to give credit to the students; they asked really interesting and some insightful questions. Can you write a blog with more than one person? How do people find out about your blog? Why are some websites free and others aren’t? Some of the students even brainstormed website and blog names for themselves which I’d love to share, but hey, I wouldn’t want anyone to steal them. So, a big, big thank you to the coordinators, administrators, teachers and students for having me. I learned some things too.

Where else have I been and what have I been doing?

Some crafting…

Homemade Granola

and some cooking… stay tuned!

**Update: I’m happy to report this is my 200th post!**

Tags: authors, blogging, kids, school, speaking, students

To Do Around Town this Weekend

There’s so much I could do IN my house… so much I’d like to do OUT of my house. How do you choose?! Fortunately, some of these “things-to-do” are in town for a while.

Tonight, have fun with make-and-takes at Chicago Craft Social.

I SO want to see Jim Henson’s Fantastic World at the Museum of Science and Industry! I don’t mind admitting I’m a big Muppets fan, and love the Jim Henson empire. I remember when he passed away, and feeling like a part of my childhood went too. The exhibit runs from Sept. 24 (today!) through January 23, 2011.

If you’re around Millenium Park, this gastronomic event might be something to check out. Chicago Gourmet runs Sept. 25-26. Food. Wine. Tastings. Celebrity chef demos. Wheee!!! It would certainly be delicious and fun for me, and what I’d give to meet Rick Bayless. Don’t know what I’d say to him, but I’d love a chance.

There’s a jazz festival in Hyde Park this weekend, too, and closer to home, the Polish Art Festival in Park Ridge.

Tags: chicago, something to do, vacation

Enjoying the Garden

We finally have a break in the weather. From the heat and humidity, we’re enjoying a preview of autumn with highs in the 60s and lows going into the mid-40s in some areas nearby. We’ll be back in the mid-80s in a few days, but for now, I’m loving the crisp, cool air in the morning and early evenings. Then pair that with the earlier sunsets. Ah, late afternoons in the fall… It’s my favorite time of the day. Ask my husband, he might say, “Yes, my wife loves the sun in her eyes when the sun sets.” It’s all about the lighting and how everything looks to me when there’s that slight tint of peach-orange sunset. I could just drink it up.

The other day, the lighting was just beautiful, and I wanted to capture some colors around and in our garden beds. Enjoy and happy Labor Day!

Tags: color, garden, plants, summer

Acorns and Projects

We’ve lived in our home for four years this summer and never have we seen or heard so many acorns falling from the red oak that lives just off our patio. I have no idea why it’s happening this summer, maybe because we had it pruned last winter? Maybe it’s the weather? Our daughter’s room is also on that side of the house, and she woke up this morning startled from the knocking sounds. The patio has shards of split acorns, fragments of acorn tops and toppled potted plants from the squirrels. I bet it’s one reason our little woodland friends have left our vegetable garden alone this late in the season, too.

Almost every morning, I’ve gone outside to assess the garden, the lawn and landscaping and after walking around bits of acorn shells get embedded in my flip flops. But, now and again, I find whole acorns and of course, I pocket them. It reminds me of picking and collecting pine cones everywhere I went. (Heck, I do that now with the kids when we’re at the park.) I’m fascinated with the little acorn shapes, and more curious about what I might do with them. Right now, they’re sitting on our dining room buffet. But maybe…

…maybe I’ll turn them into something later this Fall.

Nature Craft – Acorn Fairies at Blissfully Domestic

Harvest Napkin Ties at Martha Stewart

Something similar to this Acorn Necklace at Heather Donohue Crafts

Tags: acorn projects, acorns, crafting