Spaghetti Sauce...

I was cooking dinner tonight and it occurred to me that life is a lot like spaghetti sauce! 

Now, when I make sauce there a few things that remain constant:
1.  It NEVER, NEVER comes from a can or jar.
2.  There are always onions.
3.  There are always mushrooms.
4.  There are always diced tomatoes, and yes, they are from a can!

That about covers the constants.  Everything else is up in the air until it actually gets in the pot. 

Sometimes I like veggie sauce, other times I like meat.  My current favorite meat is Italian seasoned ground turkey.  Occasionally I use hamburger and season it up good! 

When it comes to the tomato part of the sauce there are a few options.  Like I said before, it starts with the diced tomatoes - italian seasoned.  Then I might use tomato sauce or paste - depends on how I feel that day.  Or just another can of diced tomatoes!

There are always herbs and spices, but not always the same selection!

Then I have to decide if I'm going to cook it quick or slow - how hungry am I and how long did I put off making dinner?  These are the keys to this decision!

Last choice is the noodle.  I don't always use the typical spaghetti noodle.  In fact rotini is my favorite.  I use this most often with any kind of sauce - red, white, cheese, you name it!  I love the rotini!

So, as you can see, my sauce is never the same.  A little variation here, a dash different there and the whole outcome is completely different. 

Such are our days as we make our way through life. There are constants and choices, which when combined define our days and lives.

Some of our constants might be:
1. Well, the simple fact that we woke up and got out of the bed!
2. Loved ones.
3. Toothpaste choice, you get the idea...

So, each is day similar, but made unique by the little choices we make all day long - wear the comfy shoes or the cute ones that hurt your feet?  Take lunch or buy?  Dinner with friends or quiet night at home?  Little choices that make up the fabric of our days.

There are also always leftovers - in life and in sauce!  A lingering feeling, a to-do list not yet completed, a question unanswered.  These leftovers weave their way into the fabric of our days making each one different from the last.

I like to think that my leftovers get better with time, just like my spaghetti sauce! 

Bon Appetit!

Morning...

Hello Morning, my sweet friend... We're up before the sun again!
The day ahead is packed... lot's of people, noise and fun!
It will be rush, rush, rush from this to that...
I don't dare slow down or I'll miss a beat

But for now, it's just you and me....
You are beautiful in all your dew, your air crispy and fresh...
Here comes the sun to join us now...
A world scrubbed clean to start anew...
Hello Morning....


Have a fabulous day!!

Kids... WOW

Sometime around noon...

Today I was talking on the phone with a gal that I speak with nearly every day at work.  In the course of taking care of business we chat - we've become very good at multitasking!  Part of their business is screenprinting t-shirts and they do a lot of work with high schools.  In the past they have had a couple requests from high school girls to print sexually explicit t-shirts and they turned them down flat.  Which, you know, good for them!  

Well today, a young lady comes into the shop with her cell phone in hand.  She tells the gals she is aware that they wont print "dirty" shirts, but this isn't really bad so maybe they would print it for her?  And she shows them a couple pictures on her cell phone....

On the front of the shirt, on the left shoulder, is a big splat.  The back of the shirt reads "Did I pull out soon enough?" 

I'll tell you what - I was disturbed!  And grossed out.  And... well just, yuck!  A teenaged girl not thinking this is bad?  What the heck is her definition I wonder?  It was not a shining moment and my general belief that kids are pretty cool took a beating! 

Then...sometime around 5pm...

Not being a mother myself, there hasn't been much opportunity for me to enjoy high school sports since I was actually in high school - many, many... okay one more... many years ago!  Even all those years ago, I wasn't much involved.  I would attend a game or two, but really my interests were elsewhere.  Tonight I realized just what I've been missing!

My friends 16-year-old daughter is on her high school swim team and I had the privilege of watching her swim meet tonight.  And I was thrilled and amazed by these kids.

Now, I'm pretty fond of this young lady that I have known since she was hangin' out in her mamas belly, so one could argue that I am a little biased in my opinion.  But I don't think so.  These kids really ROCK!  Every one of those girls swam their hearts out and when they weren't in the water themselves they cheered at the top of their lungs for their pals. 

It was a joy to watch those girls in and out of the water.  They all worked hard and focused and got the job done! It was fantastic!

I had an incredible time and had my faith in kids in general pretty much restored.  I mean really, when I see the focus and dedication these kids are capable of, how can I doubt our future will be in good hands?