Stopping to Smell the Roses...Literally

The sun is waking up and I hold a warm bowl of oatmeal in between my hands. I love the way it feels. Little Man is sleeping in which gives me extra time to reflect and think about my challenge this month.

I feel like it's been a busy week -but who doesn't have busy weeks? There were several times I was consumed with the business of my day when the little bells on my phone came on to tell me to take a few minutes and become present. (October's Challenge)

How often do we get stuck in the daily tasks of our "to dos" to really enjoy each moment to the fullest?

The other day Little Man and I were at our weekly library stop... he loves to take his SWEET time to and from the car. I am usually on a mission to get home and get dinner ready and practically drag him to the car.

Not this time.

This time I pushed aside that need to rush on to the the next thing and entered his world and explored with him for a moment. Stomping and crunching through piles of leaves, I followed and observed.

I stopped and noticed the things he was interested in.

We took time to smell the roses. Literally.

Then he ran to a patch of grass and just laid there curiously observing the things in the sky. Feeling quite hungry, I resisted the need to get back home... I went over to him and laid beside him. The sky was bright. We watched an airplane in the sky.

And then I saw this.

Right in front of me was this beautiful tree...the very same one we pass every time I rush to the car. But from down there- it just really struck me. In a few weeks this tree will be bare. I would have missed it's beauty because I was too busy focusing on the next thing to really observe what is in front of me all along.

Reminder: take in the beauties of fall...soon they will be gone.

It was a good day.
besitos,
xo 

More on Apples with Bianca Merkley...

I got word that Bianca Merkley had a fabulous cd release concert this past Friday!

And she is back again for Music Monday.

Get out those apples and drums and play along!

Thanks B!

Besitos!

Weed and Wish

TODAY'S WEED:

Having little man lock us out of my counseling office with my car keys, camera, and everything else left inside.

 TODAY'S WISH:

 Spending a beautiful Fall afternoon outside with little man in the leaves while we waited to have my landlord let us in. 

besitos, 

Cross another off the FALL LIST...

I have great memories of making Halloween dinner with my cousin Hilda and thought I would bring that tradition into my family. So, last night I made jack-o-laterns (stuffed yellow peppers)

STUFFED PEPPERS

1 cup Wild Rice

4 whole Bell Peppers Innards Removed and faces cut out

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Yellow Onion, Diced

3 cloves Garlic, Minced

3 whole Italian Sausage Links, Casings Removed

1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg

1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika

1 pinch Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

¼ cups Yellow Raisins

1 pinch Coarse Salt

1 pinch Freshly Ground Pepper

1 carton (26.46 Oz. Size) Pomi Strained Tomatoes, Divided

¼ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Cook the rice in boiling water for about 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and saute 4 minutes. Add the garlic and bloom 30 seconds. Add the sausage and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook about 5 minutes until fully cooked. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, diced bell pepper tops,and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Saute another minute.

Add 1/2 cup of the strained tomatoes and stir to combine.

Stuff each pepper with the sausage mixture and place in a small baking dish.

Bake 30 minutes.

Switch oven to broiler, sprinkle peppers with cheese, stick it back in for a minute, until the cheese melts.

Serve peppers with a good drizzle of the bubbly tomato sauce. 

While I was writing this post I realized I haven't posted this year's FALL LIST yet and well- we are almost through fall...how fast time flies by... you can see some of the recent things we crossed off our list on my sister-in-law's blog here and here.

My fall list:

Pumpkin Patch

Carve pumpkins

Play in the leaves

Leaf Art

Carmel Apples

Halloween Dinner

Watch Troll 2

Buy Scented fall soap

Make a bonfire in the backyard

Spend an entire day cuddling

Halloween sugar cookies

Have Apple Cider

Fall nail polish

What is on your list?

Besitos,

rainy day = bandana day

Just getting back from a photo shoot tonight and working on some deadlines for the morning. So much I feel like writing about (it's been a little bit)...but my little brain feels too tired to really make a lot of sense.

It's been one of those days...
you know- the day where you neglect your hair by pulling it up back and disguising it with a bandana.

Rainy yet delightful.

I just felt like doing nothing but wrapping myself up in a blanket and cuddling with little man. (Too bad he's more into squirming then cuddling with mom)

Despite my desire to cozy up- realistically it had to be a full day of photo shoots, deadlines, phone calls, emails, editing,  and catching up from my week long trip to Salt Lake...

It's time to stop for the day.

Besitos, xoxo