Tuesdays With Tux (on Wednesday): So Long, Farewell

After a wintry February, spring seems to have sprung here in Texas. No doubt Mother Nature has a few cold and rainy days left on the docket for us, but until those days arrive, we'll enjoy these (slightly) warmer temperatures and (mostly) sunny skies.

Tux, however, doesn't seem too thrilled that winter is on its way out. His favorite place to relax - besides right next to Will - is in front of the fire. This winter he spent the majority of his inside time snuggled up next to the fireplace screen, dozing in and out of consciousness and dreaming (I can only assume) about the next animal he'll bring me.

"Please, Tom, light it faster!" (Can you see Tux
frantically nuzzling Tom's leg while he tries to
light the fire? He panics until it's actually lit.)

Using my hand as a pillow (as in showing
me how much he loved me that day).  

Christmas kitty.

Full-on nap mode.

Tux did not like it when Hallie set up her nutcrackers
in his spot. Thankfully he found a temporary solution.

The situation got worse before it got better, but
Tux tried to be flexible. I was actually surprised
he didn't attempt to move the nutcrackers...

The transition from winter to spring means I turn the fireplace on less and less...so Tux currently despises me. He sits in front of the dark fireplace, hoping he can change my mind with his longing eyes and protesting meows.

Tux may be complaining about the arrival of spring, but he's the only one.


Happy birthday, mom!

Connections Can Change the World

College Station is a small town. We've lived here for just under seven years, and already I rarely meet anyone to whom we weren't already connected by one - or two, at most - degrees of separation. I consider this level of community intimacy a good thing, primarily because 1) as my kids get older and spend more time away from me, I know there's always someone watching them who can report back to me if necessary, and 2) it offers opportunities for connection and collaboration we might not otherwise have.

Back at the beginning of February, Hallie and her dance company performed at their studio's Night of Worship. They danced twice, first to a song called Mountain Top, and then to a song - now one of my favorites - called King of My Heart.

In our community lives an 11-year-old little girl named Jada, who after reading The Little Match Girl, went in search of a way to help girls whose real lives play out with heartbreaking similarity to that of the story's main character. With the support and under the guidance of her mom, Jada decided to combine her talents as a singer, pianist, and worship leader to create The Matchstick Project.

Jada recorded an album of worship songs, including King of My Heart, which is now available for purchase. All of the money raised funnels from The Matchstick Project through Compassion International to support, educate, and empower young girls who live in poverty and/or dangerous situations around the world. Read and watch more about Jada's story and The Matchstick Project here.

And now to connect all of these girls...

Jada recorded King of My Heart. Hallie's dance company performs to King of My Heart. Jada's mom has a relationship with the dance studio and its owners. So at Night of Worship, Hallie's dance company performed their dance to a live version of the song, sung and played on the piano by Jada.

Dancing with a live musician is hard. Singing while others dance is hard. Consider the ages of these girls - the dancers range from seven to nine and Jada is 11 - and the fact that they pulled this off with only one rehearsal and one run-through is amazing.

My apologies for the quality of the video. The sound is off and too quiet, and 

Will had trouble maneuvering around the head of the woman in front of him.

So today I'm grateful the small town in which we live. Grateful for the connections made possible by a smaller population. Grateful for the opportunities these connections provide. Grateful for kids who - because of these opportunities - believe they can and will change the world, one song at a time.

High Five for Friday (3.9.18)

I've mentioned previously that in order to get these High Five for Friday posts up at 5am on Friday mornings, I have to finish writing them no later than about midday on Wednesday. Anything that happens from that point on gets bumped to the following week's post.

I've also mentioned previously that I try my best to share an accurate picture of our lives in here Texas; I don't post about everything, but I do post about both the good and the bad.

Last week went swimmingly until Wednesday midday. Then at about the time I hit publish on the High Five for Friday post, the week took an unfortunate turn: malfunctioning dryer, leaking sink, leaking water heater (WHY, in Texas, do they put water heaters in attics?!), Tourette's flare-up, school stress, emotional meltdown, and quite a few tough conversations and decisions. Those 48 hours between when I finished writing the High Five for Friday post and when the post actually went live were a struggle, so when I hopped on to Facebook on Friday afternoon and saw the post's likes and comments and shares, I felt guilty. Guilty that my week looked better on "paper" than it had played out in real life...guilty that I hadn't painted an honest picture.

Yes, the point of High Five for Friday posts is to focus on the good. But sometimes I have to acknowledge the bad as a reminder that the highs have value only because we also experience the lows.

In that vein, I came up with two high fives that happened during that messy stretch of 48 hours:

1. We had our water heater replaced in ONE DAY. Tom talked to the company around 10am. They called me around 11am, and arrived at my house at 12:30pm. They drained the old unit, purchased the new unit, removed the old unit, and installed the new unit...by 3:30pm, less than six hours after Tom first spoke to them on the phone. If you need a recommendation, email me at erin@chasingroots.com and I'll share the company name and phone number.

2. I played Wii for the first time in years(?) and I didn't hate it. And I beat Tom at bowling.

Now, moving on to this week:

3. On Saturday I took Will and a friend to see the Houston Dynamo - our local-est MLS (professional soccer) team - battle it out against Atlanta United. We'd been meaning to take in a game for years, but it took "Cavalry Day" at the ballpark for us to finally solidify plans to attend.

We all enjoyed watching the Dynamo play (they won convincingly), and I crossed a mini bullet point off my Texas Bucket List!

4. On Tuesday night Tom's Uncle Tom and Aunt Pam arrived from Wisconsin for a brief overnight visit. Tom's parents and my parents make the trek to visit us fairly regularly (considering the distance they must travel to get here), but we don't usually have the privilege of welcoming extended family members into our home because they all live at least a few states away. We had a fun evening catching up with Tom and Pam, and are grateful they worked us into their cross-country travels!

5. Happiness Highlights:

Mini Company Member of the Month! (For
February...I forgot to post this pic last week.)

Getting my "hairs did". 

Not too shabby!

Weekend sleepover on the floor of our bedroom.
When they were little I just wanted them to stay in
their own beds/rooms. Now that they're big(ger), I
love it when they sleep close by... 

Birthday party fun at the park!

I had lunch with Will on Monday. Spending time with my boy makes
me happy, but so does seeing how healthy our district's school lunches
can be...if the kids make good choices. Yes, Will had popcorn chicken
nuggets, but he also had three fruits and vegetables and water to drink.
And that roll? He doesn't like them...he picked that up for me. 😍

And a bonus high five...spring break starts today! Happy Friday, Chasing Roots!

Linking up with High Five for Friday here:

 

Wise Words Wednesday: But Still You Did Not See

The author of this poem has been a friend of Will's for years. She is kind, thoughtful, intelligent, and wise beyond her 11 years, and she would like to dedicate her words below to all the lives lost by violence.

But Still You Did Not See
~ Shirin G.

The worst had happened
I was in pain
But still you did not see
I was hurting, lost in my own
Misery
But still you did not see
Blinded by your
Memories
Hatred at its worst
But still you did not see
How many lost
Lives
Lost in history
But still you did not see
How many more have to go
For you to open your eyes
But still you did not see
I was broken
A shattered glass inside
But still you did not see
Hearts were broken
So were bones
But still you did not see
A hole in your heart
Yet to be filled
But still you did not see
They said “Do Something!
It’s not right”
But still you did not see
Lives changed forever
But still you did not see
For all of those who still have hope
They are hoping You will
See

March Forward

If you recall, this year I began tackling my New Year's Resolutions in September. I also decided to choose one resolution each month, rather than choosing one or two resolutions to attempt - and at which to most likely fail - over the course of the year. With only 30 days devoted to each resolution, my goals have been and will continue to be small, measureable, and empowering. Smaller goals are more attainable, which increases the chance of success. Measureable goals are more manageable, which once again increases the chance of success. And empowering goals are more inspirational, which…you guessed it…increases the chance of success.

I went with a slightly different kind of resolution for March, one that takes me out of my comfort zone but the time for which feels right. Here are the details on that resolution, as well as an update on resolutions past:

March's Resolution: participate in some form of activism every day. I've reached the end of my rope with regard to a number of political and social issues, and I feel that the time has come for me act. I want and need to do something.

A couple of weeks ago I read a shared-by-a-friend, shared-by-a-cousin (or something like that) Facebook post in which the author made an interesting point about activism. She talked about how many of us become so overwhelmed when we think about making a difference - because we assume that to have an impact we have to "go big or go home" - that we end up doing nothing. I fall squarely in this camp.

She went on to add that her new motto is to start small, believing that eventually the small things add up to make a significant impact. This mentality is exactly what drove my resolutions shift this year, so I decided March would be the perfect time to take my own first steps - to March Forward, if you will - toward becoming a more engaged citizen and in support of the causes in which I believe.

I don't have all of the details ironed out, yet I know that little - perhaps even none - of what I do will find its way to social media. I'll share an update in my April resolutions post, but I don't have plans to personally try to persuade those who believe differently than I do to change their minds; instead I want to make donations, contact my representatives, write letters, ask questions, and listen more.

February's Resolution: clean out all of my kitchen cabinets and drawers. After cleaning out and paring down the contents of my closets in January, my kitchen cabinets and drawers suddenly felt agitatingly disorganized and unnecessarily full. I expect that my friends and I will hold a joint garage sale in May, so it made sense to tackle clutter in January and February. The result? A moderate success! I cleaned out and reorganized all my cabinets, but didn't get to the pantry...sounds like a good project for spring break, doesn't it?

January's Resolution: clean out all of our closets. My goal was to take care of the kids' closets with them before they went back to school, and then tackle the rest of the closets throughout the last three weeks of the month. The result? A moderate success, but there remains work to be done! I started off strong at the beginning of January, but getting sick meant I made absolutely no progress throughout the last two weeks of the month. I thoroughly cleaned out both kids' closets, the linen/guest bathroom closet, the front hall closet, the playroom closet, and my half of the master closet. Months later, Tom's closet still remains...getting him to sort through and/or organize anything is a challenge, partially because he has little free time and partially because he doesn't see the value in this kind of project.

December's Resolution: read to my kids every night. My goal was to sit on the side of their beds - or better yet, snuggle up next to them - and either read to them or let them read to me. The result? A moderate success on paper, an overwhelming success in reality! I read to Hallie almost every night, and to Will about every other night. We missed a few evenings because of late-night activities like Snowmageddon 2017, Nutcracker performances, Christmas parties, a birthday sleepover, and travel, and a couple of times Will opted to read his own book rather than join Hallie and me. December worked perfectly for this resolution as our evenings held fewer commitments, and I truly hope I can carry this resolution into January - when our regular evening activities begin again - and protect this precious time together. Months later we don't read together every evening, but we definitely sit down with a book more often now than before our December resolution. I find that it helps to choose a book that everyone - me included - can't wait to get back to (we're reading Wonder right now) and to leave the book in a visible place so we're regularly reminded that reading time is calling.

November's Resolution: write in my gratitude journal daily. My goal was to document at least one thing for which I was thankful every day between November 1st and November 23rd (Thanksgiving Day). The result? A moderate success! I missed a couple of days but realized fairly quickly I had done so; I remembered the days I had accidentally skipped with enough clarity to go back and update my gratitude journal. Months later I don't keep a regular gratitude journal (I only commit to keeping one - at least officially - in November), but I try to use my High Five for Friday posts the same way I would use a gratitude journal.

October's Resolution: drink more water. My goal was to down at least two full water bottles every day. The result? A complete disaster! I probably met my goal only one day a week. I do a great job of drinking water during the summer, but for some reason my school year schedule doesn't have the same triggers as my summer schedule to remind me to drink water. Months later I still struggle with this resolution. I have tried everything I can think of to remember to stay better hydrated (and to make water more appealing), but I only succeed about a third of the time.

September's Resolution: turn off the light by 11:30pm on school nights and by 12:00am (midnight) on weekends. My goal was to get at least seven hours of sleep a night, and to settle into a peaceful schedule of falling asleep and waking up that would continue through the school year. The result? A complete success! Not one cheat day. Months later I still adhere to these bedtimes, and while I wish I could bump them 15-30 minutes earlier (I've tried and thus far it doesn't work), I'm happy that I get a solid seven hours of sleep most nights. Well, I get a solid seven hours of sleep on nights Tux doesn't have to go outside to use the restroom or need extra love at 4am.

What have you resolved to change about yourself and/or your life this year? How are those resolutions going?

High Five for Friday (3.2.18)

1. Last week the TAMU engineering student group with which Tom works hosted a karaoke fundraiser. That same night and at the same time, I had to attend a meeting for a committee on which I serve. Because Tom had to attend his event (he was a "featured performer") and my meeting wasn't appropriate for kids, both Will and Hallie tagged along to karaoke night.

"Featuring Prof. Thomas Ferris" among others.

Will couldn't muster up the courage to sing, but Hallie crushed Love is an Open Door and Let it Go...with Tom. Can you imagine attending - as a college student - karaoke night and watching your professor sing Frozen songs with his eight-year-old daughter? I imagine it would be hysterical or adorable or maybe a little of both, and Tom was willing to brave what his students might say (and what videos they might post on the internet) to make Hallie's night. He's a rock star dad, in more ways than one.

My apologies for the poor quality of this video. Unfortunately Hallie was too short to be seen behind the barrel and karaoke equipment and the cameraman (ahem, Will) wasn't paying very close attention to the task at hand.

Tom also sang Hakuna Matata with another professor, which may have pushed the needle toward hysterical...

2. Will had a soccer game scheduled for 9:30am Saturday morning in Houston. I woke up early and checked my phone for weather updates, and when I saw a message from the team manager indicating that the fields were open and the game was a go, Will and I loaded up and pulled out of the driveway at 7:11am. An hour and a half later we arrived at the athletic complex in Houston. While Will put on his shinguards, I disconnected my phone's bluetooth from the car's audio system...and started to see notifications coming through on our team app.

"Fields closed."

And then...

"Game cancelled."

You guys. These notifications had come in at 7:14am, just three minutes after I pulled out of my driveway in College Station. Will and I got up early on a Saturday and drove all the way to Houston only to find out his team wouldn't be playing after all.

Normally this kind of shake-up would lead to a meltdown...by me. I plan and organize most aspects of our lives because if I didn't, we wouldn't get anywhere on time nor would we be able to balance school, work, music, dance, sports, etc. I also HATE wasting time and money, and this unnecessary 90-minute drive to Houston wasted both.

But for some reason, this time a drastic change in plans didn't break me. Will and I decided to make the best of our situation, so we started with a walk/jog/adventure through the park. We eventually ran into three other friends/teammates of Will's who had also made the drive, so before we climbed back in the car the boys ran off a little steam (and the parents hoped we wouldn't get a ticket for letting the boys play on the closed fields).

A little jog through the park. The pace at which Will jogs is quite
literally the same pace at which I would sprint from a burning building,
yet when we walk, he complains I go too fast and can't keep up.

The cement path on which we jogging rounded a
bend and stopped abruptly in front of a heavily wooded
area. We ventured through the trees and came out on
the other side near sandy dunes and a river.

The sand by the banks of the river was so saturated
from days (weeks? months?) of rain that it sucked
us in like quicksand...kind of creepy!

Will's sandals and my fashion sneakers weren't
the right footwear for our little hike, but we
didn't let inappropriate dress hold us back!

On the way home, we took a detour past Trader Joe's (!!!) and popped into Starbucks for a cool treat to enjoy on the drive.

Hallelujah!

My stash from this trip: mandarin oranges, pink lady apples, chicken
and veggie burgers, egg rolls, silver dollar pancakes, breakfast and fruit
bars, roasted red pepper tomato soup, salami sticks, bagel seasoning,
sriracha BBQ sauce, milk rolls, chocolate covered pretzels, and wine. 

Ready for the journey home!

Our morning did not go according to plan AT ALL, but in the end I had the best time with my boy and wouldn't trade the five hours we spent together for anything.

I know I'm biased, but that's one handsome boy.

3. Meanwhile, Hallie spent the morning with Tom at an TAMU engineering recruitment event. (She attended a lot of work events last week.) When I finally made it back to town and picked her up, she had been sitting on the floor in the corner of a lecture hall listening to professors describe and answer questions about their research for more than three hours. She was, however, still in such a good mood that I couldn't help but treat her to cookies at College Station's newest cookie shop. She ordered a "Tiffwich", a cookie and ice cream sandwich which happened to be the size of her head and made her as happy as...well, as happy as a little girl with two cookies and a pint of ice cream. And lucky me - she gave me three delicious bites.

This is how much was still left after she
had been eating nonstop for 10 minutes. 

4. Last month Hallie had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at an Aggie basketball game. She loved the experience, but left that day kind of bummed that a scheduling conflict meant she couldn't actually stay for the game. So when another opportunity to perform at an Aggie basketball game arose - this time with the Aggie Youth Dance Day - Hallie couldn't wait to go, both to dance and to see a great game of basketball.

Hallie is hard to find, but if you really look, you can see her in the front row of the back/older half of girls. Her blond hair is in a ponytail and she's wearing a skinny black headband. 

This week was chock full of great opportunities made possible by the community in which we live, and for that I'm truly grateful.

5. Happiness Highlights:

I discovered the reason why the Sam's Club chicken melt is
my favorite on-the-go lunch: "Sandwich Bros. of Wisconsin".

Last Friday night we celebrated a beautiful friend's birthday. We
gathered in comfy clothes, toasted with prosecco, and indulged in
desserts, and in between sips and bites we talked and laughed
and made plans to do the same more often.

A polaroid of me and the birthday girl, taken during
her party but also apparently during the 1970s...

This girl's hair is really starting to come into its
own - waves and even curls for days, and that blond... 😍

I guess we know what she thinks about life in Missouri...

Happy Friday, Chasing Roots!

Linking up with High Five for Friday here:

 

Monthly Mash-Up: February 2018

Writing
Though I didn't take on any new projects over the holidays - or through the middle of February, for that matter, thanks to the January Variety Show and February Sock Hop - I did see a few writing projects in print during those months. I had an article about the historic Stagecoach Inn in Salado in the December issue and an article about the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Artificial Reef Program in the January issues of Texas Living, and I have a new post up over on the Mama Bear Dares blog - check it out here! (Teaser: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”)

Reading
I didn't finish any books this month, but in preparation for watching The Handmaid's Tale on television (after I sign up for a free 30-day trial of Hulu), I have been reading the book. It comes across, at least to me and thus far, more like an in-depth description of a complicated society rather than a story being told, but I expect that will change as I make my way through the second half.

I am also reading Wonder with the kids, which we're all enjoying thus far. Will watched the movie at school, and assures us we'll laugh and cry as much during the film as we're laughing and crying throughout the book.

Watching
The GREATEST Showman. I took Hallie and a friend, and the movie lived up to every single one of our expectations. The singing and dancing truly blew us away, and the movie was so well cast, from the children to "the Oddities" to the main characters. The girls found grown up Zac Efron kind of funny though (apparently they were expecting Troy from High School Musical), and didn't like it when he kissed his love interest. I, on the other hand, found grown up Zac Efron quite visually pleasing and didn't mind the kissing one bit.

We also watched as many minutes of the Olympics as we possibly could, however the time difference made it difficult and at times frustrating, especially for Will. He missed a lot of action he desperately wanted to see - the women's hockey final, for example - because the events started multiple hours past his bedtime.

Listening To
Besides the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman? Absolutely nothing. Since Valentine's Day, while in the car (including multiple drives to Houston for soccer games) we have listened to ONLY those nine songs and two reprises. Tom can't stand listening to the same music over and over, but the kids are just like me in that when we find music we love, we want to keep listening until we know every word and every note.

Trying/Using
I rarely lose my phone or keys for longer than five minutes, but when I'm running out the door in a hurry, those five minutes feel like an eternity. Designed to help remedy this problem, Tile Mate is a bluetooth tracker that attaches to a key ring (or pretty much anything else) and connects to an app on a cell phone. Open the app and activate the search function on the phone to find the keys; press the button on the bluetooth device on the keys to find the phone.

Tom bought me one for my birthday, but we didn't set it up until last month...and it's AWESOME. And yes, the ringer that alerts you to the phone's location STILL WORKS if your phone is on silent.

I have no skin in the Tile Mate game other than as a happy customer who appreciates having the ability to 1) find the phone her son left on his desk and 2) the car keys her daughter put in the wrong kitchen drawer. Hallelujah!

Wearing
February felt like true winter (rather than Texas winter) here in College Station, so I found plenty of opportunities to wear this cozy trench vest from Talbots. I'll admit, Talbots is not my favorite place to shop. But after my mom showed me a couple of cute pieces she'd picked up on clearance, we decided to visit our local store. Most of their clothing doesn't fit me - both size-wise and style-wise - but on occasion I come out feeling like I won the shopping game!

I mentioned last month that I sent a number of clothing items, pairs of shoes, and accessories to ThreadUp and that I hoped to have enough information by this month to let you know my thoughts on the service...so here we are!

• Positive #1: ThreadUp made it incredibly easy to request, fill, and return one of their bags.  
• Positive #2: I was paid a decent price from ThreadUp for the items they bought outright. (By decent, I mean higher than garage sale prices but lower than prices I could charge on a Facebook sale page.)
• Positive #3: ThreadUp's process to request a full payout was easy. I chose a prepaid VISA gift card rather than PayPal, as the PayPal option had a 2% fee associated with it.
• Negative #1: As is often the case with resale shops, the criteria ThreadUp used to decide which of my items to buy outright, sell on consignment, and return to me didn't make a lot of sense. Some of the items they mailed back to me were name brand, in excellent condition, and seasonally appropriate. 
• Negative #2: To have the items they don't buy outright or choose to sell on consignment sent back to you, ThreadUp takes the first $10 of your earnings. I went this route, because this being my first time to use the company, I had no idea what they would take. I also assumed that if they sent me back items, I could sell them at my garage sale and hopefully make back that $10.
• Negative #3: The amounts I received for the items they sold on consignment were shockingly low. This was honestly the only frustrating part of the process for me, because unlike the items they bought outright and for which I was paid fairly, I felt like ThreadUp took far more than their share for the consignment items. 

So, in a nutshell, would I recommend ThreadUp? Yes. The process is a quick and easy way to clear out clothing, shoes, and accessories that are in good condition but that you no longer wear. The payout system and amounts aren't as solid as I think they should be, but I would still do it again!

Want to give ThreadUp a try? Use this link to get started and you'll get $10 to spend!

Eating/Drinking
I made quite a few duds - from main courses to desserts to a breakfast coffee cake - this month. All were edible, but they just didn't make my mouth water nor did they lead to requests for seconds from the other three Ferri. The exceptions, however, are below - enjoy!

• I made this Basil Pesto Pasta dish for dinner and while Hallie didn't like it (what's new), Tom LOVED it. I made a few adjustments, as always... I used spirals instead farfalle because that's what I had in my pantry, skipped seeding the grape tomatoes, left out the mozzarella (for Will), and added chopped cooked chicken (for Tom). Additionally, rather than cooking the pasta and the green beans separately, I added the green beans to the pasta when I thought the pasta needed about six more minutes to cook and then drained them together. Lastly, I heated the entire dish back up before serving - because I added the chicken, it seemed like the dish should be served warm.
• I used this Mounds Layer Cake as a springboard to make Mounds cupcakes for a friend's birthday. I baked the cake (using half as much sugar, of course) as cupcakes, and when the cupcakes had cooled, I scooped out a small amount in the center on the top of each one. I then heaped the recipe's filling into these little holes. Finally, I topped each cupcake with a healthy (in amount only) swirl of my own coconut buttercream and half of a Mounds candy bar.
• A couple of weeks later I made Almond Joy cupcakes for another friend's birthday. I whipped up my basic milk chocolate cake recipe (you could use a boxed chocolate cake mix) and blended in pure almond extract right before I filled the cupcake tins. This time I topped the cakes with a swirl of coconut cream cheese frosting, a sprinkle of sweetened coconut, and half of an Almond Joy candy bar. (Most of the time I make up my frosting recipes as I go, so I can't really share links. If you're interested in rough measurements for these or any other frostings I ever mention, just send me an email at erin@chasingroots.com and I'll jot them down for you!)

Feeling Good About
A few today... One about a dog, one about a cat, and then two about comic strips - one about "being a force for good in an often dark world" and one about "finding love in the little moments".

What's new and interesting in your world this month?