A Fitting Poem for the Title of my Blog

I'll admit it. I'm not a huge fan of poetry. If someone wants to discuss poetry (actually happened to me recently, believe it or not), I cannot contribute to the conversation at all. Does Dr. Seuss count as poetry? I can talk about Dr. Seuss...

At any rate, my sister sent me this poem the other day and it really spoke to me I think it's really awesome.

It was published in 1917. Enjoy.


Deep in the Quiet Wood
James Weldon Johnson 1871-1928

Are you bowed down in heart?
Do you but hear the clashing discords and the din of life?
Then come away, come to the peaceful wood,
Here bathe your soul in silence. Listen! Now,
From out the palpitating solitude
Do you not catch, yet faint, elusive strains?
They are above, around, within you, everywhere.
Silently listen! Clear, and still more clear, they come.
They bubble up in rippling notes, and swell in singing tones.
Not let your soul run the whole gamut of the wondrous scale
Until, responsive to the tonic chord,
It touches the diapason of God's grand cathedral organ,
Filling earth for you with heavenly peace
And holy harmonies.



Much Love,

Fun Times with Pinterest

Anyone who knows me knows I love Pinterest. At least, most of the time I do.

At any rate, I frequently peruse the blog Pinstrosity to see which pins people are doing (and which ones I should stay away from!). They do this challenge thing every month(?) where they give you a theme and you find something you've pinned and do it. It's great for me because I have a lot of pins that would otherwise just sit there. So far I've done October (pumpkin theme) and November (giving back theme) and I have four (yes, four!) pins picked out for December (mint theme).

The fun thing is that when you're done with the project, you send them what you did and they put it on their blog! You can see mine here and here.

Happy pinning!

Love

I love my husband. For many different reasons, but the first one that comes to mind right now is...

...because every once in a while, out of the blue, he'll say, "You need to update your blog."

Me: *sigh* I know...

I'm always surprised he actually cares enough to check it. True love, folks. True love.

I do have a lot of write about though. I'll put it on my list to do this weekend.

What I've Been Making

I admit, I've been a horrible blogger and have fallen off the food updates.  I know, shocking and extremely sad isn't it??

I tried to start up where I left off but Pinterest arranges the boards such that I have no idea whether I've blogged about a particular pin or not.

So I've just decided to focus on a select few:

These southwestern chicken wraps (I used real chicken instead of the chicken substitute) were good but not anything to rave about.

Source: thecurvycarrot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I made this broccoli salad for a family get together.  YUM!  I recommend it!

Source: jamhands.net via Nicole on Pinterest

I do NOT recommend this one.  Tasted okay but I guess it needed about 30 more minutes in the oven.  I ended up tossing it.

Source: butteredup.blogspot.ca via Nicole on Pinterest

This pasta was SUPER yummy.  I didn't want to pay $36 for the crab so I just used shrimp I had in the freezer.  I'd recommend it if company is over because it doesn't reheat well (too much butter).

Source: dailycrave.wordpress.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Ho-hum veggie burger.  The hubs liked it but I think that had more to do with the toppings than the actual burger.

Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com via Nicole on Pinterest

These were okay.  Definitely NOT the same taste as the 'original' oatmeal cream pies.  Probably wouldn't make it again.

Source: cravingchronicles.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Highly recommend this recipe.  So yummy.  A bit of a hassle to make, but worth it.  I lost a lot of cookie cups during the process though.  I'd recommend you use a well-greased pan.  Also, the cookie dough falls to make the cup shape when you take them out of the oven.  I was confused about that.  I kept waiting for them to fall while in the oven.

Source: bannerboutique.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Made these last Sunday.  Definitely yummy, but don't expect a Twix taste.  Also, cookie based crumbles apart instead of being a hard crunch like Twix bars.

Source: jaseyscrazydaisy.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Out with the old

I've been doing a bit of purging lately.  Purging of blogs that is.  The majority of the blogs I frequent are mostly about food.  And I admit, I have found some really good recipes, but nothing I can't live without.

Yes, I enjoy the blogs and I enjoy being in the kitchen, but I feel like I need to focus on healthier things like gardening, reading, and finishing up my half-finished crafts.  And let's face it, I have tons of cookbooks that are crying out for my attention.  Not to mention Pinterest will for sure keep me up to date on the latest recipe craze.

Disclaimer: I did hold on to a food blog that I particularly like.  Come on, I have to have some fun!  :)

If any of you know of any good healthy food blogs, I'm all ears!

My Reason

This is why I think not just twice, but MANY times about the words I use when expressing any kind of sympathy or condolences.  Tricky thing that is.

Visit my Pages!

Don't forget to check out my other Pages I post to: 

• All Things Food where I blog about recipes I make whether or not I ultimately like them
• Books, Books, & More Books where my "expert" opinion on books I read are jotted down
• Crafty Things where my current & finished projects are outlined
• Playing in the Soil will be seasonal due to my lack of fall/winter gardening skills
• Run Like Hell where I am documenting my progress in my hobby: running

Needing some inspiration

I'm a huge fan of Google Reader but lately, the blogs I subscribe to have been falling flat.  I find myself scrolling through my feeds and realizing at the end that I didn't read a single one.  Is it because I'm entering a new phase in my life?  Is it because the majority of what I subscribe to are written by people I don't know & possibly find uninteresting??

What are some of your favorite blogs?  I need a change of pace!