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Mama

Weeknight Vegetarian: Brown Rice Bowl with Crispy Baked Tofu, Edamame, and Peanut Sauce

This Week: Grilled cheese & tomato soupPineapple fajita soft tacosFalafelLeftoversHomemade pizza I adore Thai food. I love all the spices and freshness and depth of flavor. I like to say this rice bowl is “Thai-inspired” because I’m sure it’s not … Read More

Lifestyle

Weeknight Vegetarian: Indian White Bean Curry + Chapati

This week: Cinco de Mayo – portobello/black bean enchiladas with creamy green chile sauce, hot corn dip, guac Roasted lemon quinoa Thai peanut noodles with tofu & veggies Roasted pineapple tacos Homemade pizza Brinner: waffles, spinach strata The way some … Read More

Lifestyle

Weeknight Vegetarian: Why I Stopped Using My Kitchenaid (for pizza dough, anyway)

This week: Monday: Red Coconut Curry Noodles Tuesday: Cafe Rio Salads Wednesday: Chana masala with homemade chapati Thursday: Brinner (lemon, goat cheese & leek frittata + potato hash + homemade frozen waffles – I tell you, the best thing to … Read More

Lifestyle

Weeknight Vegetarian: Roasted Lemon Quinoa with Chickpeas & Feta

I used to be super awesome at meal planning. I would do 2 weeks at a time and I pretty much never wasted a single CSA veggie. Risking utter modesty, I rocked. For the last few months, I…haven’t rocked. Without … Read More

Lifestyle

DIY “Accio Milk” Onesie

Remember that little Pinterest Challenge? The one that ended earlier this week when I had THREE pins I hadn’t yet done? Pretty sure 50% is a failing grade however you look at it. (It’s amazing what having the entire … Read More

Lifestyle

Happy Easter!

From our crew to yours. Me: Downeast shirt, Gap cardi, eShakti skirt, F21 tights, Payless shoes, Blue Nile earrings; bow pin made by me Husband: Bowtie made by me. I haven’t the faintest on the rest. Boy baby: Target blazer … Read More

Lifestyle

S’more Eggs

Yesterday, we had a little Easter egg hunt with our playgroup. Aside from needing to have the egg hunt indoors since it was freezing and windy and BAH willwinterneverleave, it was adorable watching all the kiddies run around finding eggs. … Read More

Lifestyle

My Phavorite

We took a little trip to my beloved Philly this past weekend. Oh, how that city makes my heart sing. And N. Philly makes N sing. And dance with umbrellas. Even with the miserable rainy/snowy/haily/sleety/slushy/gucky/whycan’twinterjustbeOVER weather we had (resulting in … Read More

Lifestyle

Cauliflower Pesto Pasta with White Beans & Kale

We don’t do a ton of pasta around these parts, mostly because I hate cooking lunch so we generally like to have enough for leftovers for the 3 of us, and a pound of pasta doesn’t usually cut it. But … Read More

Lifestyle

Roasted Beet Salad with Citrus, Goat Cheese and Almonds

As part of the Pinterest Challenge, I wanted to make this beet salad. What really caught my fancy, though, was the pairing of beets and goat cheese. For some reason, I really wanted to add “clementimes” to it, and it … Read More

Lifestyle

Corn, Potato & Green Chile Chowder

I love soup in the wintertime. It’s pretty much the only thing that is reasonable to eat when it’s 30 degrees out, amiright? This soup is one of my favorites. It’s hearty and delicious and tastes even better the next … Read More

Growing up, there were probably a lot of things I took for granted about my mom. Moving across the world to a country where she didn’t yet have a firm grasp of the language (and then getting the hang of it by watching soap operas :)); studying by streetlight and earning her master’s in mathematics; giving up a job outside the home to raise two girls.

But one of the most important things I think I took for granted is that my mom is fearless. She’s strong. She’s willing to work and learn and try, and she’s not afraid of any of it. She learned how to swim after moving to the US and when she was in her 30s. She was always the one to fiddle with the new VCR players to set them up, even though she’d grown up in a home that only occasionally had electricity and running water. Just a few years ago, after entering her 60s, developed a love of reading (and not just any books – history and biographies. serious stuff here).

It never occurred to her to be afraid or to think, “I can’t do that.” Or maybe it did; but she did it anyway. Decades of using a second language and not being accustomed to reading full-length books didn’t stop her from doing it, and loving it. Not having ever before even owning a television didn’t prevent her from just deciding to figure it out – and succeed.

I love that she’s never afraid to try something new, just because it’s new. To her, it’s just another adventure, another puzzle to figure out. She never actually let us in the kitchen growing up; that was her place, and she liked things a certain way (it is not unlikely that she managed to pass this other trait along to her eldest, as well). I never touched a sewing machine until a couple of years ago because she was too busy encouraging us to do our homework or practice our violins or just chug along as the bookworms we were.

But because she wasn’t afraid, I’m not either. I love to cook, and while she didn’t give me recipes, she did give me wholesome meals and a belief that I could create them. She didn’t teach me to thread a needle, but she did instill in me a belief that I can learn anything, create anything, accomplish anything I want.

My mom is a strong woman. She raised strong girls. I hope I can be that same kind of mama.

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It just so happens there’s another mom in my life, as well. This mom read scriptures to my husband every day through his youth, and taught him to love the scriptures. She’s quiet, but she has her own strength. For instance, she’s the only daughter in her family who served a mission, and was the only girl in her master’s metallurgical engineering program. She didn’t, and doesn’t, worry about what’s popular, but concerns herself with what is good and right. She is an excellent listener and encourages her kids. She adores her grandkids and knows more kids’ songs than most children’s choristers. She is generous and kind. Her children, especially one particular son, adore her and learned from her to be gentle and good. She provided a listening ear to a shy and scared little boy, and encouraged him in developing skills and following dreams to become the best man I know. For that, I will be forever grateful.

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In honor of Mother’s Day, Blue Nile sent me these gorgeous earrings. I love that the pattern is delicate but bold, just like my mama. They graciously sent me another pair to send out to some special lady out there, be she a current or future mama. Leave a comment before Friday, May 17th if you’d like to win!

(Or use MOMGIFT13 to get 10% off your purchase at Blue Nile!)

Update: Congratulations, Maxine!