The Comfort of Food: It’s in our Nature

Comfort food keeps us alive in more ways than one.

Although it was a hot day, I craved rice and beans, cooked in the traditional style* on the stove in heavy Guardian Service pots. It’s remarkable that in so many modern cultures, it’s the inexpensive food that makes us happiest. Our ancestors ate this to survive. We can eat anything we want and often choose the foods that define our pasts. Or childhoods. Celebrations. Or ordinary family meals. Our nature.

Bloody Noses and Idea Shortages

So this is where high standards get in the way of storytelling.

I enjoy the blogging challenges; The WordPress, NaBloPoMo and One Word Photo Challenge have all inspired me to see beauty and humor in the everyday.  But sometimes the well runs dry. The ordinariness of daily life shows its supremacy and gives everything a grey shroud. It won’t last. Summer is thisclose and I may have found a  new (to me) beach to explore about an hour’s drive away. For now, though, I’ll keep my eyes open for visual surprises.

We Love Books

They grow up but with any luck, the love of books remains.

But it’s not just luck. If you joyfully read to your kids from infancy, if they have readers as role models, then reading is a positive part of life. It’s not just associated with homework assignments, but also with enjoyment.

My Style: Trim Nails as a Show of Strength

I was a nail biter.

You wouldn’t know it to look at me, with trim, tidy nails in a usually understated color. But I was a skittish, nailbiting kid who kept up the habit through adulthood. When my teenaged daughter wanted nice nails for events like proms and sweet sixteens, I gladly paid. It occurred to me that I deserved just as nice but rarely spent the time or money on my own extravagances.

In 2006 I made the decision to no longer be that nervous kid and start treating myself as I wanted to be treated. After wearing tips for about a year I pretty much broke the habit and stopped wearing the fake nails. I learned how to do them myself, although not nearly as professionally as they do in the nail salons. It’s like I made up for lost time, buying more nail polish than I could ever use.

Evening Energy

Ahh, the end of a long day, feet up catching the early evening breeze while I sip a coffee. Just enough energy to get through the evening.

BlogHer Mania and Some Thoughts on Selfies

Happy May everybody! I’m going to attempt to post daily for BlogHer’s “NaBloPoMo” (I think it’s National Blog Post Month or something like that) since their theme this month is photo. Yep, we may get a little self-revelatory in this, my favorite month of the year.