Living in Munchkinland

A recipe! I made this the other day and it turned out so well! It was easy, healthy and a complete meal that my entire family happily inhaled. I thought you might want to try it for Christmas dinner. If you left off the chickpeas, it would be a great side. Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs Brussel sprouts (ends removed and quartered) 1 can chickpeas 4 large sweet potato (peeled and cubed small) 3 T coconut oil 3 T maple syrup 3 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 cup halved pecans 1 large avocado Instructions Preheat oven to 350. Add the cubed sweet potato and the quartered Brussel sprouts, as well as the rinsed and drained chickpeas to a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix all the vegetables well so they are completely coated. Spread the vegetables onto a lined baking sheet. I used two as I had lots of veggies! Bake for about 30-40 minutes, stopping halfway to stir the vegetables around. Meanwhile, toast the pecans until brown and fragrant

I'm approaching forty. Not right away, but soon. Maybe that is why I have been doing so much more navel gazing lately. I've also been reading all these books, by Liane Moriarty, that are about women and relationships and it makes me think about who I am and how I am perceived. My friend, Katie, sometimes writes me emails about how she perceived me when we met- just little anecdotes in conversation- and they are always so different than how I remembered. I wonder why I strive so hard to be the perfect wife, mom, hostess, friend, class mom, daughter when nobody seems to really like that kind of person. We all love to hear about their hidden insecurities, because it makes us feel better. Me, too. I wonder why that is. Maybe my friend Marchelle, the social psychologist would be able to tell me. I'll have to ask her about that later. My sister, eight years older and wiser, tells me that when you reach a certain age, you stop caring so much what others think of you.

Last Friday, mom and I hosted our annual book group Christmas Karaoke Party! There were Two Signature cocktails, a white elephant gift exchange, a delicious potluck spread and lots of fun karaoke. This was my favorite book group holiday party yet! I had so. much. fun. I am so blessed to have wonderful friends and family to share the holidays with. Good times.

We had a lovely week. Wednesday evening we met up with most of San Marcos at the Sights and Sounds of Christmas. Davis and Samuel met up with a large gaggle of their friends and disappeared into the carnival. This time with friends was really good for them, because we withdrew the children from their school the week of Thanksgiving. They were thrilled to still be able to spend time with them. Friday morning I drove up with my dad to meet my sister at the mall. We walked around and bought presents for mom and some foster children. We had a lovely lunch and I got to spend time with my sister and my dad and it was great. That evening at home, Michael and Davis and Samuel and I curled up and watched some Christmas specials as a family. Saturday morning we woke up early and Michael and Davis headed off for the Jingle Bell 5K run. Samuel and I met them there a bit later so that Samuel could join them for a 1K fun run. They all did very well. Davis ran the 5K in 30 minutes. I w

We spent our Thanksgiving at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA with my parents and my sister's family. The hotel was founded in 1766 and has a long, interesting and rich history. The huge building is incredibly stunning. We felt like we were at the resort in the Dirty Dancing movie. We even took beginning ballroom lessons! We also did the walking history tour, took a hayride up to the ski area and had s'mores, played croquet and miniature golf, ice skated, played board games by the fire, took a yoga and zumba class, ate a ton of food in a variety of fabulous restaurants, played in the game room, did a wine tasting, played family bingo (and won!), took pictures in front of the Christmas tree, built snowmen, watched the kids throw snowballs and had two foundation meetings. And did I mention it snowed? The second night we were there, it snowed five inches of thick, huge snowflakes. It was beautiful! It was a wonderful time to spend with our family. We all had such