MM #10: Comfort Zone

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Last night I had a blast!  I went out with a friend who's shared pieces of my life with me for nearing two decades.  We had a couple beers and talked over the loud music while munching on peanuts.  We talked about the old days when we were young and hanging out in front of coffee shops; him playing the guitar and me singing various tunes from Concrete Blonde and Tori Amos (among others).  We had fun.  The "performance" aspect of that rarely bothered me then, but now... oh, now...  performing in front of people is absolutely terrifying to me.

I don't mean to sound conceited here, but I can sing.  I do alright, anyway, pretty sure I'll never win a Grammy, but I'm ok with that.  I'm happy with my current shower and car performances. And my audience is pretty darned cute too!

Last night, while we were munching on peanuts, the Karaoke started.  And this friend, remembering the old days, convinced me to get up there and sing.  Christmas is right around the corner, and his birthday just after, with one performance I could kill two birds, he says.  So, I submit my card.  They call my name.  And I stand up there shaking so hard that I'm pretty sure I'm going to shake apart right there on the stage.  But I sang.  I sang the best I could.  And I'm pretty sure I bombed (that no-Grammy thing is pretty much set in stone now).

As I walked off stage shaking and defeated, a strange thing happened... I felt different, better, new.  Don't get me wrong I still didn't see any award-winning performances in my future.  BUT.... I had done something that scared the hell outta me.  I had done it mediocre-ly, but I had done it.  I had faced a fear and survived.  And it ocurred to me; its through these moments that we spend outside of our Comfort-Zone that we grow the most.  Yet we fight it so hard; we fight tooth and nail, sacrificing things that are important to us, just to stay in this Zone when all it takes is putting yourself out there, shaking things up a little, and diving in to the unknown.

What can you do to shake things up a bit?

A meetup with Elmo

On Sunday the girls and I had a party to attend, but first we made a pit-stop to a friends house to meet... Elmo!  

Punkin and the hostess (Mia) were all about it.  Bunny was not so sure.





Three days later and Punkin and (surprisingly) Bunny are still talking about it.  Just look at the joy in those little girls' eyes!

And now back to our regularly scheduled programing!

***Update:  Alternately titled "The Beginning of My Hiatus"




Whew! I'm finally caught up! Ok, I'll just take one moment to pat myself on the back before I continue...

Easter Saturday Brunch

Easter Saturday brunch is another one of our neighborhood's traditions. More succinctly, another wonderful thing that S and W do for the neighborhood. For those of you not in the know; S and W are our neighbors, to the right if you're standing in the street and looking at our house (and while you're there, please ignore the empty flower bed between the two houses, the leaves that I STILL haven't cleaned out from Fall, and the fact that our lawn is about 10 inches too tall).

S and W are true neighbors, always saying "hi" when passing, truly interested in the lives of those around them and always willing to help in any way they can. In fact, since I haven't mowed the lawn in a few weeks I'm expecting W to knock on the door any minute now and ask if he can mow it. Yes, you read that right.

Every year on the Saturday before Easter they host a brunch for their neighbors. The festivities start around 11:30am with mimosas and bellinis, around noon the men go outside and re-live their childhood by finding creative ways to hide all the eggs S and W have purchased and filled with money and candy, followed shortly by the children who run around finding them all and filling their baskets.

Once all the eggs have been found, and the booty inventoried, the feast begins! Now, let me tell you, this is no ordinary brunch and I will attempt to describe it for the unfortunate folks who don't get to see, and taste the bounty of delicious food, but words are failing me as I remember the sights, smells and tastes from Saturday afternoon.

While mimosas are being sipped, the neighbors chit-chatting, and children scrambling around searching for eggs to fill their baskets, S is cooking. Or rather, this year, S and Papa were cooking. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, blueberry and cinnamon-raisin french toast; bagels with cream cheese, smoked salmon, hard boiled eggs, red onion and capers; sliced ham, cheese, rolls, melons, pineapple, asparagus with roasted red peppers, and baked ziti. We all brought food, as well. C, their neighbor to the other side, made a egg and chorizo pie, H (across the street) make macaroni and cheese, and Papa made a delicious salad - greens with sliced strawberries and toasted pine nuts and a strawberry puree pomegranate vinaigrette. mmmmm...

But the pièce de résistance is S’s "apple pancakes." Now before you think pancake and picture some flat thing that you throw butter and syrup on - STOP! That is not what these are. These are sliced apples in cinnamon and sugar slowly simmered and then finally covered with a layer of batter and baked in the oven....these are perfection. There was more...so much more, but my memory is failing me and, quite frankly, all I ever remember well is those darned pancakes.

Once we've all filled our plates and then our bellies, its time for dessert: Cupcakes, cookies, little cheese-cake bites, and a home-made parfait that I always forget to leave room for.

We sat around, ate and chatted with the neighbors until the little one was falling down and the big one started crying over everything. And then we headed home for naps.

It was great! So great, in fact, that I’m already looking forward to next year.

Fairytale Town

Johnny turns 1!

Johnny's first cake

Fun time with Phoebe

 

Phoebe is Punkin's little friend in the neighborhood. She came by the other evening when we were outside playing. They had a blast together playing in the piles as I was sweeping leaves.

A Visit

There's not much going on around here since I got "the boot." It feels like we've been stuck in the house for years now! Poor Punkin', I think she's having a mental breakdown of some kind from lack of sunshine and different surroundings; so its never dull around here! M came for a visit last week with her two boys, S (2 1/2) and the squishy baby P. I just love squishy babies! Punkin' and S actually played together! So M and I got a bit of a chance to talk about Mommy things, it was a miracle! We really enjoyed having them over...so much so that I'm ready to live in a cardboard box if I have to just so that I can be closer to the rest of the world! Maybe when the real estate market improves we can entertain the idea of getting closer to town. Until then, dreaming's free!

Double arming it

"Ahh... so this is what mothers of multiples must feel like"

Playtime with Skylar