I think I’ve told y’all this before. I struggle with lunches. I don’t really want to dirty up the kitchen and make something complicated, so I often resort to peanut butter and jelly, or just eating slices of turkey with a cup of yogurt. Not very exciting, but the goal is to not be hungry, not thrill my culinary senses. . . But then every now and then I get a whim to actually create a more exciting lunch and not long ago, I saw this recipe for a BLT salad and thought it sounded sublime and perfect for lunch. Not too many dirty dishes and I didn’t have to turn on the oven! It also gave me an opportunity to use up some of the abundance of yellow pear tomatoes. Funny thing is, I’ve never actually had a BLT sandwich so I didn’t really have any expectations for this salad, but it was delicious. The simple aioli dressing brought a richness to the salad that made it feel heartier. Very tasty, we all enjoyed it a bunch!
Recipe for Bacon Lettuce and Cherry Tomato Salad with Aioli Dressing
So much happening in the past week. It was good to go home to Dallas and spend time with family. Healing really happens when you are surrounded by those that you love and love you.we shared some great memories, laughter and tears. It was good.
I also managed to get myself pretty sick. Today is the first day that I’m really starting to feel well again, so hopefully I’ll be getting back into the swing of things.
Before we left for Dallas and before we had heard the news about Nana, I had shaved a mohawk into Jude’s hair!
And then after we heard the news, we buzzed it all off since a mohawk didn’t seem like an appropriate hairstyle any longer… So now we have a bald baby that looks like a little man.
The good thing about Jude having no hair is that I can get sunblock on his scalp (since he won’t wear a hat) and food doesn’t get stuck in his hair any longer!
Oh friends. I have so many blog posts written up and ready to be posted by the timing doesn’t feel right. My heart is somber right now and it would feel false to me to clammer on about a delicious fish dish I’ve made, to show you what I’ve been sewing/crafting, or to show you how we shaved Jude’s hair into a mohawk. 2010 is proving to be an extraordinarily difficult year for me and my family. Between joblessness, first time parenting, moving, small disappointments, depressions, changing churches and the regular stresses of daily life, our previously stable world has been flipped upside down. I am afraid that we believed that we were exceptions to the rules in life and that the struggles of marriage would not affect us. We have since learned otherwise and thankfully, instead of running away from everything, we have struggled through it and thus grown as a couple. Turns out, no one is an exception to the rules. We all struggle. I am grateful that my husband is my best friend and that we are committed to working through the difficult times in life together. It is good to have a partner to walk through this chaos that life throws at us. I love him.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day that we started dating. 10 years we have been together and we have been through a lot. Many celebrations and many mournings. I am thankful for each day of those ten years, especially the hard days. Those are what have made us who we are and a stronger couple. I’m learning that there is a reason for the pain that we go through as a couple and individually. It is a difficult lesson.
We are heading back to Dallas tonight to spend some time remembering Nana as a family. I think it will do my heart good to remember all of the good times we had with her. To cry and laugh as a family. I need to celebrate her life. I’m hoping that the melancholy that has settled in my household will begin to lift once we return. Until then, you may not hear much from me. If you are of the praying persuasion, I covet your prayers for healing. God hears them all.
Today, at 96 years old, my Nana passed away. She was an incredible woman, full of life and spitfire. She lived through several wars and even a depression. She experienced a happy marriage, life as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was beyond thrilled when she found out that she was going to have the opportunity to meet and love on her great grand-son. Jude was her light over the last year. I am so thankful that I got to take Jude to Dallas not long ago to spend some quality time with Nana. Jude loved her. He was always smiling when he was in her lap. I think he knew how much she loved him. I know how much she loved me, my husband, my mom, my dad, and my brother.
One of my favorite descriptions of her was from a good friend of mine who described her as the grandma that she could picture swinging from the chandelier, wine glass in hand. She was always ready for a good time with friends and family. She was well loved and lived a full life but we are going to miss her immensely here. We love you Nana.
1/28/1914 – 7/19/2010
