First post. That’s all I have to do, my friend told me.
This friend, Stephanie Parker, is the name, soul, and
yumminess behind her crazily successful and oh. so. helpful blog,
Plainchicken.com www.plainchicken.com
We just had lunch at Acre www.acreauburn.com, a new farm-to-table restaurant,
in Auburn, Alabama, where we both grew up. This town is popping at the seams. I’m
here, from Severna Park, MD, (just outside of Annapolis) for the first, real
(as in longer than a weekend) vacay I’ve ever really taken without my kids. My
goal this vacation is pretty much, nothingness. Sleep, get up, eat, swim, talk,
dress all when I want without feeling like I have to be the ideal example to my
kids. And to see my mom and friends like Steph, who lives with her husband,
Tad, aka Chicken Legs, in Birmingham.
I’ll show you a pic of what I had. It was yum and
gluten-free (more on that in another post). It was great to see her, with her
Louis Vuitton bag, and mine from my mom’s closet (because you could only bring one
item for free when you fly Spirit), polished nails and trendy but casual
outfit. I was in my less trendy but more comfy outfit, because after all, I’m a
mom with two kids and colleges and weddings and grandkids in the future
(possibly) and she’s got 3 cats. Nothing wrong with cats; just sayin’.
It had been almost twenty years since we saw each other…not
since high school graduation. She was the only one of my besties from growing
up to come to my grandmother’s funeral and it meant the world to me. One of the
hardest days of my life and she was there with her sweet mama, Patsy. She was
the only friend I’d ever do naughty things with…like roll yards with toilet
paper and oreo cars. Nerdish delinquency. Well, she’s been encouraging me to do
a blog for the past two years, and I’d always leave our lunch (which of course
she photographs so she can use it on her blog) pumped full of inspiration and “can
do” ‘tude. And then, I’d open the door to my mom’s house, see my kids, think about
privacy issues with creepy people on the internet, or get sidetracked with
something they’d present or demand or ask about, and the inspiration would
evaporate, sometimes like my sex drive L
Just do it, she said, like the Nike slogan, as she was
biting into puffed tortilla with steak, grilled corn and a cilantro cream
sauce. So, I’m just doing it.
And, God willing, I will keep doing this. May be little by
little, step by step… thank you Confucius. But this will be me pouring my
observations, stories, questions, recipes, memories and randomness into 11
sized Calibri Body font. It’s a journey and I hope you’ll join me for the ride
;)
