Spring Celebration 2015

Generally, I have a hard time with transitions. I talked about it here and noted how difficult the transition from winter to spring is for me. 

Logically, it shouldn't. After a long winter, I should be happy when March begins. 

Except March is not really spring here. It might feel like spring one day, and then winter the next. 

Snow. On March 31.

I think the trickery of early spring is the hardest on me mentally. I set up expectations (even low expectations like it can be cold, just no more snow), and then feel frustrated it is still winter. 

Transitioning to all of the other seasons never seems so difficult. In fall, school starts to mark the transition from summer to fall. We put up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving to announce not only the Christmas season, but the transition from fall to winter. Spring to summer is celebrated by the end of school. 

Spring just sort of happens when I am busy hoping that there is no more snow. 

That is no way to live.  

So I decided to start a tradition that will signify the beginning of spring. First, we went to the park and played outside.

We had been to the park before, but this was the first time we weren't bunlded up.
I forgot how nice warm sunshine feels!

Sidewalk chalk is a sure sign of spring.

Later, I made a special dinner and took to Pinterest for some inspiration.  I wanted to make a meal that was all things spring. I wanted fresh asparagus and mint and peas. Nothing frozen. 

All of the fresh spring food!

But there were no fresh peas so I improvised with roasted asparagus.

Yasss! Asparagus! 

I made crostini inspired by Fork Knife Swoon  and Bitz and Giggles. I didn't have any peas or herbed cream cheese so I just rubbed a pieces of baguette with a cut piece of garlic, spread some ricotta cheese and seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper and topped with roasted asparagus or a cucumber slice and chopped parsley. 

There is something about ricotta cheese that always makes a meal feel like a holiday.

I made a pasta dish with roasted asparagus and sautéed mushrooms that was inspired by Giada's pasta dish and this Gratitude Bowl by Gratitude and Greens . 

I also made a green bean salad by The Kitchen is My Playground. The dressing called for white wine vinegar, mint, and olive oil. I took the liberty of adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and honey.  It was divine!

I also grilled chicken.  I forgot how delicious chicken can be.

 I even made infused water with lemon and mint.

So delicious!

Afterwards, we went to Orange Leaf and celebrated with the first frozen yogurt of the season.  All of my favorite flavors were there – coconut, pistachio, and chocolate brownie!

First Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt of the season!

I really liked doing something small, yet special to celebrate spring.  My mood has lightened.  I feel hopeful when I see the crocuses peeking their way through the dirt.  For the first time ever, I feel excited for spring!

Do you transition well from winter to spring?  Do you do anything special to start the spring season?

Snow Days in March

It is March 12^th, and we have a snow day. 

A SNOW DAY!  How can this be?!  I was just running outside two days ago!

This must be the latest occurring snow day in the history of snow days.

I have given up on putting boundaries on screen time today.  We are in survival mode.

I am trying to shift my perspective, so I am sharing a movie that I made when snow days were fun and exciting and novel instead of being a burden.

Look at those smiles! That's when we loved snow.

How is the weather by you?  Are you surviving another snow day? Am I being silly by clinging to the notion that spring will eventually happen? 

In Photos: Lunch with Ricki Lake

Last Monday, I had lunch with Ricki Lake. 

Me with Ricki Lake

Well, not actually lunch as in we sat together and shared a meal.  Actually, I was lucky to enough to sit next to these wonderful bloggers and social media mavens.

Lauren from Mrs. Weber's Neighborhood,
Emily A. Hay and Betsy Critchfield
from Hay There Social Media, me, and
Elena Wollborg from Mommy is in Timeout 

While we ate an amazing lunch of grilled chicken and kale salad, we were listening to Paula Tutman from Local 4 interview Ricki Lake.

Ricki Lake and Paula Tutman

I am super excited for The Ricki Lake Show which premiers on September 10 at 3pm on Local 4!  I think the way that she plans on incorporating social media into her show is incredible.  Ricki has created the hashtag #FriendsofRicki on Twitter so viewers can continue the conversation after they are done watching the show.  Also, the Friends of Ricki Facebook fan page is a great way to connect with viewers.  What I think sets her apart is not only that Ricki’s production team accessible via Twitter, but they have production meetings that are open to the public (I had the pleasure of meeting Josh from Team Ricki, and he was very friendly).  You can log in at the website and participate -  seriously, how cool is that?!

Ricki talked a lot about how she has evolved as a person and how her life experiences (marriage, motherhood, divorce, producer of The Business of Being Born) have helped her to gain a better understanding of her authentic self.  As someone who is trying to figure out this new stage in her life, I connected with this statement.  And I like how she used evolved rather than reinvent.  I look at it like this: to “evolve” is to take life experiences and learn from them as opposed to “reinvent” which sounds like forgetting the past and disregarding any lessons learned.  

My day could have stopped there, and I would have been totally happy.  Hanging out with fellow bloggers and meeting Ricki Lake was such a fun way to spend the afternoon.  But the cherry on top was meeting Local 4’s weatherman Andrew Humphrey (who is so incredibly nice and tech savvy), chatting with Paula Tutman, and getting a little peek at the Local 4 studio.

Me and Andrew Humphrey

I savor these moments that are totally out of my normal routine and soak up all that I can, whether it be adventure, inspiration, or fun (or in this case, all three).  It was an incredible day, and I feel so fortunate to have been invited!  

La Femme Fashion Show

A few posts ago, I wrote about going to my very first casting call for a fashion show.  I have some super exciting news – I made the cut!  Tomorrow, at the La Femme Fashion Show I will make my debut on the runway at (minus that one time as a kid when I walked the runway at Burlington Coat Factory to model the new spring fashion.  I feel the fashion world didn’t recognize my potential at that point in time).

I am excited to be participating in such a fun event!  La Femme Fashion Show is going to feature fall trends from the selected store at The Village of Rochester Hills and is going to take place at Meadowbrook Hall.  I am going to be modeling a denim, southwest look from Chico’s.  Did I mention that I have to get my makeup done, too?  It will be nice to take a break from my regularly scheduled life to do something glamorous and fun.

However, I have to admit, there is a little part of me that is nervous.  (And by little, I actually mean a lot).  I am no stranger to being in front of a crowd.  I danced in recitals and competitions for years.  But this is a little different.  This is a solo performance, not a group dance routine where I can blend in the background.  Walking is something I do every day, all day so it should be easy and natural.   But with all those eyes on me, I sometimes forget which foot comes first.  And then I feel all heavy and awkward.  Which then brings up some repressed memories of being in the sixth grade, and trying to fit in with a bad perm, acne, and braces. 

But I digress.  Honestly, I just hope that I don’t fall down face first on the catwalk and end up “fashion road kill” like Carrie Bradshaw in my favorite episode of Sex and the City.

Even though I am nervous, I am equal parts excited to have an opportunity to do something I never thought I would do.  I am going to have fun and revel in this unexpected twist in my personal journey.  I’m going to show my kids that being anxious doesn’t have to be the determining factor in overcoming fear, but that courage and a sense of adventure are the essence of living a full life.

Have you done anything scary lately?