Knowing Your True Self

When I was expecting Bug, the most common comment I received when people would gawk at my over-sized belly was, "Oh boy, things are about to CHANGE!" They always said it like that was a bad thing, like I should go fill my pantry with canned goods and hole up for the inevitable nuclear fallout I was about to experience.

They were right that things did change when Bug was born. Everything changed! But, and I know every mom out there would agree, my life changed for the better. It morphed into something richer and deeper than I knew possible. As cliched as that sounds, it is so inexplicably true.

I honestly feel like I am more "myself" now than I have ever been, and while I am not sure if my comfort in my own skin is due to becoming Mommy, to having recently completed another decade in my life (grrr), or just to natural maturity, it feels nice to be a little more kindred with myself.

Here is a prayer by George Appleton, shared with me by a dear confidante and mentor, which speaks to this...

Give me a candle of the
Spirit, O God,
as I go down into the
deep of my own being.

Show me the hidden things,
Take me down
to the spring of my life,
and tell me my nature
and my name.

Give me the freedom to
grow so that I may
become my true self,
the fulfillment of the
seed which You planted
in me at my making.

Out of the deep
I cry unto thee, O God.

Amen.

Here's to learning our natures and our names. Here's to becoming our true selves.

All Dressed Up... and Somewhere to Go!

Valentine's Day is only nine days away. Having a little Bug running around has made date nights less common than Hunk and I would like... but Valentine's Day is an exception! It would just be too depressing to stay home with Netflix and popcorn (again), so for one night, my anal self will concentrate very hard on not cringing when I hand over the babysitter's money and head out for a little rekindling of all feelings pre-Bug with my hubby.

But, what to wear?! I decided to do a little searching for date night duds online, and while I doubt my conscience (i.e. my husband) will let me purchase any of these items, lookey at what I found!

Lauren by Ralph Lauren Vega Silk Turtleneck Halter Dress
What is more romantic than a silk, sleeveless, turtleneck dress? One that's also a halter, that's what!


Check out the back:

$135 at www.macys.com

J.Crew tissue rolling-ruffles tank
Isn't it sweet? Flirty but casual. I think it'd look super cute with a fitted pair of dark denim jeans, a casual blazer and heels... me likey!
$44 at www.jcrew.com


GAP t-shirt scarf dress
A cozy little scarf attaches to this t-shirt dress... which can be worn alone (yeah, if your legs looks like hers in mid-February) or over tights or skinny jeans. Gotta love a multi-tasker!

$48 at www.gap.com


Okay, so I'm out of time, but I think that's a nice little start for some date night ideas. Regardless of your plans next weekend, I hope you find something fab to wear... even if it's just for Netflix.

Whole Raw Chicken: A Rite of Passage

Raising four kids, my mom was Master of the Chicken. I can't remember a week that didn't involve me eating a chicken part of some kind, and most of my childhood memories are infused with the aroma of boiling livers on the back burner. (Being the days of pre-cholesterol awareness, my parents actually paid us to eat them! The abuse we suffered.)

So, as I have made my own way into adulthood and now into motherhood, I always knew I could count myself as a "real woman" when I mastered The Chicken. I quickly discovered that chicken breasts are a breeze, but every time I encountered an entire bird in the poultry aisle, it always looked so...well, chickeny. I prefer denial when I eat my meats. If it looks like it might bock at me, I shy away.

But, in these economic times, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and so one day in Walmart, feeling brave, I put a couple whole birds in my cart. Actually, to be accurate, I put them in produce bags in my cart. They looked like they might ooze something onto my hotdog buns.

I took home my little featherless friends and after scouring Allrecipes.com, Barefoot in Paris and Southern Living, I came across a winning combination. What joy!

Here it is, my passage into womanhood, my recipe for a WHOLE chicken!

1 3-5 pound chicken (devoid of gross inner parts)
olive oil
1 lemon
fresh or dried thyme
lemon pepper
1 whole onion

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse chicken inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels. Arrange breast-side up in lightly greased dish (13x9x2). Tuck wings under and tie legs together with kitchen twine, if desired. (It tastes the same spread eagle.)

Rub outside with olive oil. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice all over chicken, including inside cavity. Put lemon halves into cavity.

Rub (or put sprigs of) thyme under chicken skin on breast meat. Sprinkle more thyme on chicken, including legs and wings. Sprinkle thyme (or put sprigs) inside cavity. Sprinkle lemon pepper all over outside.

Slice onion into skinny wedges. Separate onions, sprinkling in pan around chicken and tuck a few inside cavity. Slide several onion slivers under skin on breasts, too.

(You can also put potato wedges and carrot slices in the pan to bake with the onions: a one-pot wonder!)

Bake for about 18-20 minutes per pound. Check for doneness: when juice runs clear when a knife is inserted between body and leg and when meat is white throughout depth of breast.

Not only does this chicken taste unbelievably good, but it's like a really yummy aromatherapy session while it's baking. (Yes, I just totally set myself up for a Jeff Foxworthy one-liner.)

Welcome to womanhood!