Wow I was blown away by how many comments I got on my last post, The Tall & Short of It. It was interesting to hear who wants to be taller, who wishes they were shorter, and who likes their height and who doesn’t. I had no idea that height would be such a popular topic. Thanks to all of you who de-lurked and commented for the first time, and please do so more often.
And thanks for all your glowing compliments about the pictures of Skylar. Scott’s already talking about keeping the boys away and her dating. We’ve got a few years though as I remind him.
Yesterday I was so excited to open a package in the mail and find this lovely gift from Holly!
A few weeks ago I sent her a kombucha scoby so that she could start brewing kombucha at home. Making your own kombucha is super easy. This is the formula: Kombucha scoby + brewed and sugared tea + a covered glass jar + time = kombucha. Obviously doing it the first few times, there are tons of questions and lots of reading is necessary but one you get the hang of it, it’s so easy.
And, home-brewed kombucha tastes better and costs pennies to make a gallon of. Why would you ever pay like $3.99 for an 8 oz bottle of storebought when you could make a gallon at home for a quarter but I digress.
I never in a million years thought Holly would send me anything. But boy, I hit the jackpot.
Holly apparently knows that I love all things vanilla.
Yankee vanilla candles are The Best.
And she knows I love this gum.
I wasted no time breaking into it.
Holly is such a sweet person and great friend. I feel a special kinship with her since she lives in Minnesota and that’s where I grew up. There’s an expression “Minnesota Nice” and that holds true with Holly. She is just so nice.
And if that gift wasn’t enough, blog reader, Michele, sent me this stevia. She couldn’t use it and offered to send it to me. I would never say no to free stevia!
I have a whole post with my stevia-containing recipes. Thank you so much, Michele, for your thoughtfulness!
After all that loveliness in the mail, it was time to eat.
Plants with Vegan Slaw Dressing
If you:
freeze the tofu first
then thaw and press the water out of it very well
then bake it
it will turn out very “bread-like”.
A spongy, pumpkin bread, of sorts.Dessert: No-Bake Dark Chocolate Coconut Snowballs (Vegan, GF, Freezer-Friendly)
Questions:
1. Do you consider yourself to have great friends?
Junior high and high school were not times in my life where I’d say I had “great friends”. You couldn’t pay me a million dollars to go back to 8th grade.
Conversely, I have gone through periods of my life where I’ve had great friends, such as my later college years and mid-twenties.
Then, as I got older, married, moved around the country many times, I lost touch with many of my college and early 20s friends and the priority of making new friends sort of fell by the wayside. Just one of those ebbs and flows of life.
Oh, and becoming a mom does nothing for one’s social life! You are at home with a small, helpless human being. You exist for them. Friends? Huh? When there’s another nursing session needed, a diaper to change, and cooking to be done, I couldn’t imagine finding time to hang out with “friends” back then. It would have been great, but didn’t happen much.
But now, Skylar is getting older and more independent and re-connecting with my own friends, both online and real life, is becoming increasingly important to me.
2. How important are friends to you?
I don’t believe it’s healthy long-term to not have friends.
So even though I am not one of those people who “lives” for being a social butterfly and organizing events, get togethers, or dinner parties with friends, and I don’t chat on the phone with friends that often these days, I know in my heart that I do have some really, really solid friendships with a half dozen women, and that’s extremely important to me.
I could call any of them at 3am with anything, and they’d be there for me. No questions asked.
I also “know” so many people. We all do. I would say my acquaintance circle is huge.
As well as my circle of friends that although we don’t see each other tons or we’re not BFFs and joined at the hip, they are still good friends and I could count on them and they could count on me for anything.
3. Have you made any friends via the blogsphere?
Oh gosh, tons! Some of my closest friends now are women I’ve met blogging! We share the commonality of blogging (which unless you are a blogger or an avid blog reader, it’s hard to fully “get” this world) so there’s that, but we also have been reading each other’s every post for a couple years now. With thousands of emails exchanged with each other behind the scenes.
I have met so many amazing people through blogging! If Katie, Madeline, or Jessica, had a nickle for every email we’ve exchanged, we’d all be rich. Those women have heard me laugh, cry, and I turn to when the chips are down or when I need a pep talk or I need to non-judgmental place to vent. Or to laugh hysterically about something.
And there are tons and tons of other ladies who I exchange emails with and we laugh and talk shop and talk life. You all know who you are.
I used to think making friends on the internet was somewhat strange. Now, I can’t imagine not having the friends I’ve met via the internet and blogosphere!
Tell me about your friends and friendships? In real life or in the ‘sphere. Do you have lots of friends? A tight-knit circle or many acquaintances?
Yankee candles are awesome. Really awesome gifts and glad to see you have such great friends. Woot! :-)
I do have some very special and wonderful friends. They are vitally important to me and matter a great deal in my life. I cannot imagine going through life without them.
I have made 2 friends in the blog world and you are one of them, Averie! I, like you, used to think it would be weird to connect with people over the internet, but I have found that I greatly value you and my other friend that I have made. I look forward to connecting more over time. I am so, very glad to be getting to know you! xoxo
thanks michele :)
Wow, it’s great you have made such close friends through blogging!
I was an Army brat and moved a lot as a kid so even once I stayed in one place for the rest of my school years everyone else had been friends since kindergarten and I didn’t fit into that. I also have a little problem of not giving enough time to making and keeping up friendships. But I’m working on it!
The tofu looks awesome. Love the texture when it’s been frozen first. I have always chosen to have a few close friends instead of hundreds of acquaintances. And I tend to avoid people who are constantly social just to meet as many people as possible. I get that, but I prefer to have quality time with a few people (in real life), as it would be difficult to keep up with or stay close to that many people at one time daily. Plus I really need lots of “quiet” time to study, cook, run, do yoga, and read. I feel like if I was always surrounded by people then I wouldn’t really have anything to “offer” them. And it’s hard for me to small talk. I tend to get straight to the point and develop bonds quickly. Kind of a no bs kind of girl……..
awwwwww! What sweet gifties. Love blog world. I have some incredible friends! I feel very lucky that along the way, through all my moves (I know that you know how that is!!), I have made and kept some incredible friends. Enjoy your Sunday
I looove yankee candle!! Especially their “desserty” fragrances, or anything vanilla :) So awesome you make your own kombucha, too! I rarely have it because I just can’t do that price tag :X
I am definitely one with a few close-knit friends rather than a million and one acquaintances but no “rock” to go to when I need it. I’d rather it this way, too; I’ve done the whole hanging out with the “just to be cool” group of girls (Ohhh, H.S.) and it’s so not me. I can’t be catty if I try! I absolutely consider people I’ve met through blogging to be my friends, too; whether I’ve met them in real life or not!
you are such a great friend, 10+ yrs younger than me, but you remind me of me when i was your age…but a MUCH better cook and photographer :) As in, i couldnt do either!
happy belated to skylar!!!!! hope she had a WONDERFUL birthday and i know you made her oodles of treats :)
i love having friends! haha although i haven’t seen much of them lately because i’ve been so overwhelmed with schoolwork and what not but still it’s so good to know that i always have them to lean on :)
My favorite brand of stevia. I love home brewed kombucha!
I have a lot of acquaintances but only a few close friends. When it comes to friends, I am all about quality over quantity. It’s really important to me to have people who I really connect with and not just a friendly “hi, how are you” type of thing…although those are nice to have as well! It’s easy to make real friends and strong connections through blogging. You can learn so much about a person by reading their blog and communicating back and forth with them through comments and e-mails. When people open up about personal things on their blogs, other people can be SO supportive and it brings them together in ways that they otherwise might not.
thanks hayley for the comments today. re the one about height and ppl making comments about your stature and size, oh girl, i have had some doosies over the years as im sure you have. anytime one isn’t smack dab in the middle/average, people’s mouths open before their brains fire.
i have always loved all our emails too :)
i am so lucky to have a wide variety of friendships. i am still friends with two girls i have known since age 2 and age 5, for example! i have a smaller circle of really close friends, a large circle of people with whom i am friendly, and i have recently started to feel like friends with some blogging buddies! it’s really special wihen you connect with people – online or in real life.
thanks for proposing another really interesting discussion topic, averie! so glad you have special go-to girlfriends in your life!
Lucky gal! I must go check out that dessert recipe – yummo! I hope you eat more salad than that girl! – that’s like 2 bites :)
clearly my blog isn’t a food journal nor do i show everything. and some days i show things i don’t eat on that particular day. just depends on what I feel like posting.
Yikes, sorry! I hope you didn’t take that the wrong way! It was just a comment – no ill intention! Trust me, I know all about just posting some stuff – hence disclaiming everything….ugh.
You can eat whatever you want! Sorry :(
No girl I knew you didn’t mean anything by it. But I know I have new readers who read the comments and just didn’t want to let that one go without saying that of course, that’s not all i ate :) And that some days when i have 3 types of dessert in one post…i dont eat that all on that particular day either.
Have a rockin’ Sat. night!
:)
Thanks Averie. I’ll be more conscious of what I say from now on – trust me, I totally completely understand…and know TOO well how annoying and frustrating it is to have to keep disclaiming oneself. Everytime I post pizza – I’m afraid of what people are going to say. Similarly if I post a sugar-free recipe. No different.
I say bah – if someone else has a problem with it – it’s THEIR problem, not yours, mine or ours.
Peace.
I’ve always been mature for my age and never really “fit the mold” in middle or high school, but since being in college I’ve found some truly wonderful friends that share my interests and maturity. I’ve found that I tend to connect more with friends who are maybe 10 or so years older than me, and college gave me the opportunity to find those wonderful people!
I completely agree about the blogging friends – it’s actually one of the reasons I came back to blogging and I truly consider YOU a genuine dear friend of mine! You are an amazing individual and I have received so much love and support from you. :) SO glad to be back and in touch with you again!
xxoo
Heather
thanks heather and our email chats 18 mos ago feel like a lifetime ago for me in many respects…but you..they were another lifetime ago! You went from h.s.’er to ADULT in that time period and i know you have truly found your place in the world and i am soooo happy for you!! xoxoxo
What a cute little gift package I want to brew kombucha at home im addicted and it is not cheap! Where did you get your schoby or did you buy a kit?
where do you live? check craigslist for scoby or kombucha mushroom or mother. those are the keywords.
if that doesnt work, you can buy them from happy herbalist (the website).
i have them coming out of my ears! too bad you dont live closer!
I am in lexington ill have to check craigslist ! I wish I lived in San Diego :) actually my roommate is from there, chula vista !
small world that she’s from here!
I am blessed with some great friends in my life. I’m not always the best at keeping in touch and I tend to fall out of existence every once in a while, and it’s something I’m working on. As a military wife, I have to move and reinvent my whole life every 4-6 years, so staying in touch with friends is something that I really need to be more conscious of. I have definitely made some good friends online, mostly through support forums.
I have a solid few friends that I have had since childhood or high school. Some I haven’t seen in years, but we talk every week. I am a happy loner ( as in, I enjoy time alone. I am not socially inept), but I value my closest friendships. I can’t imagine not having them!
I haven’t met anyone from the blogosphere (yet!), but I have met people that I have met on other websites! There are three I still keep in contact with – they are lovely girls!
To the people that I consider close friends, they have my total loyalty and I am protective of them. Many potential suitors are given an assessment by me before I will ever approve!!
The hubby and I have a VERY tight knit group of friends. Most of them have been friends since elementary school, and then at age 15 some girlfriends and I met them and joined the group (I met the future-hubby at this time). We hung out everyday then, and we still hang out every weekend now, go on trips together, etc.. All significant others that “marry into” the group, just become one of the gang. I feel blessed to have such a great group of fun friends who all like to go out to eat, travel and do all the things that I like to do. I hope that when we have kids all our kids will play together and grow up together.
thanks for your previous comment about me and my nails looking good :) i do NOTHING with them or for them other than trim them. I wash sooo many dishes and food all day, it’s amazing i have any nails!
And you WILL have kids that grow up and play together with your friends. I know how close you are with your core group!