.443 l u n c h .

trader joe’s has this japanese fried rice 
[with edamame (soybean), tofu and hijiki seaweed]
that is a godsend for, both, timing and nutrition in my home. 

toots loves it. she picks out all the beans and eats them first every time.
i generally make it for lunch as a main dish, sometimes paired with sliced apples or raw spinach on the side, when i have a lot on my plate.
(corny pun fully intended)

dear busy moms: i recommend this. it's vegan. it takes 10 minutes on the stove and all you need is olive or vegetable oil. 
(*note: you can add meat or egg or anything you want. it doesn't have to stay vegan if that's not your thing)

.442 philadelphia orchestra

 greatest lesson i consistently learn from tiny people: roam free. 

because all toddlers are natural born rebels.

because life's too short to keep off the grass.

women, too, have mastered the art of "tinkling" while we stand.

.441 and happy bday crystal

and then the very next day, they surprised her mother, crystal, with a party of her own, orchestrated by tyti, herself.

  

i don't tell her, in any serious way, and not nearly as often as i should, that i love her greatly, and that our childhood memories are some of my fondest. we are just 10 months apart, her closer to the grave than i, and that fact has been, both, nemesis and joke alike for all these years. she once convinced me that i wasn't actually turning 11, because she had always been older than i and it was impossible. subsequently, this was the time i successfully learned that we were to be the same age for at least two months at the end of each year.

my first cousin. my uncle harold's youngest daughter. we were pretty tight. we dressed alike, we fought over everything and battled through our changing teens, sometimes, close, sometimes distant, always loyal when it mattered most. we used to play the alphabet game ("a my name is amy, my husband name is alfred, we live in alabama and we sell airplanes"), dying of laughter and delirium the closer we got to z, huddled under blankets, feet to head, in crystals twin bed. we would stay up entire nights watching horror films in the living room waiting to see which one of us would crash before sunlight seeped between folds of thick parlor curtains in the summer time. the first time she lived alone, we sat with friends playing drunken board games in that same living room until she lovingly held my head back when i had to throw up shortly after. 

and this is what i was thinking when she walked through mo and tavoy's door unknowingly that evening. i saw 'child her', 'teen her', then 'woman her', all in one flash, and i gasped. i'm not around my family often, anymore, and i cannot guarantee that this is the start to me being so (because my path is my own) but in this moment, i remembered all the other moments, that made me so very happy to be here celebrating with her, now. my cousin, my heart, my friend...whom i cherish...whom i love...even though i dare not say so often enough...

dear family: click here to view entire (private) gallery and download images. 

shoot me a message on FB or text me or crystal for password.

(i copied/pasted this last bit from the last blog like a bawse.)

.440 happy b*day tyti ❤

my baby cousin, tytiana, turned 12 and had a epic, "turn down for what" type of party that i am sure she will remember for years to come. truthfully, i didn't even know who the dollar boyz was until this party and i am still a bit perplexed by their fame. yet, the moment they hit the stage, tweens, dripping with neon jewelry from fingers and arms and necks and ears, screamed and twirled and cried out excitedly as a group of hip-hop youngsters danced rhythmic circles around bass infused beats pumped out by a dj perched in a corner. it was überly awesome, this party was, and exceptionally exhausting. we came. we saw. we danced. we glowed. and when all was said and done, we had a blast and a half with not a bit of energy left over!

 

  

dear family: click here to view entire (private) gallery and download images. 

shoot me a message on FB or text me or crystal for password.