Our Brains Are Trying To Make Our Hearts Healthy

The first thing that happened:

Daddy left out the butter for the stuffing... BUT He realized with PLENTY of time to get it in there before it cooked. And it is pretty fantastic :) (I snuck a bite)

And THEN:
I left out the butter in my chocolate chip walnut pie... And when I realized it, I opened the oven to find that the pie had been spilling out over the sides of the crust for the 15 minutes it had been cooking. I had been bopping around saying "This pie is gonna be AWESOME" and was all pumped... and then I was ROYALLY deflated... for a number of reasons. Mamma and I turned the oven off, waited for it to cool, we scrubbed the pie goo that had baked itself to the bottom of the oven and the grates... Mamma kept saying "this is how you learn!"... and I tried with a last ditch effort to salvage what I had by stirring butter into the already partially cooked pie.

Well, we got the oven cleaned, and I somehow... some WAY... SAVED THE PIE! It's AMAZING. A-MAZ-ING. So, hmmm... There's a good lesson in there somewhere. I really thought I had completely screwed it up... and thought I was gonna have to make ANOTHER run to the grocery to start over. But NOPE! I didn't give up, and it worked out for the best in the end. :)

I didn't forget the butter in my next pie.

We celebrated today at Miguel and Jenn's (before my kitchen debacles began) and now we are preparing for the Ft. Stovall Thanksgiving feast that will be celebrated in the morrow. :)

Hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving. And even if you don't have more Thanksgivings to go to... I hope you enjoy those turkey sandwiches!!! Aren't those the best??

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

All We Need Is Love

I witnessed a social interaction in a gas station on our way home from Iowa that saddened me and made me thankful all at once.

I do not know the circumstances in which the couple entered. But from my observation, a woman was being outwardly unkind to her boyfriend. He was embarrassed. He was simply pointing out that there were creamer selections for her coffee behind her in case she wanted them. She screamed at him for being "stupid" and said "Don't you listen to anything I say? I already told you I don't want anything in my F*!&#$% coffee." And with a dramatic and exasperated sigh, she stormed off. He looked distraught and at the end of his rope.

Again, I don't know what went on before they entered the gas station. But the snippet I saw was one person being unkind to another, and for no reason at all.

My heart went out to that poor frustrated man. No one deserves that. NO one does. Not in our most heated, worst conversations with one another. And ESPECIALLY not in the every day interactions with one another.

We all get our buttons pushed and overreact.

But if we can remember LOVE above all else. If we can love each other enough that we don't let our demons get to us and override common decency; if we can let our love for each other - brothers and sisters, spouses, friends, parents, strangers - overcome our tendency to speak before we think; if we can disagree without hatred... we can ALL make a difference and create a better world. It doesn't take much.

I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I think it's on repeat as a reminder for me. It was a small but powerful interaction. It made me SO thankful for my loving husband, my wonderful band, my incredible family, and my personal beliefs of faith, hope, and ultimate LOVE. I guess it started my "Thanksgiving" out a little early. And it has lead to some insightful conversations that still have me thinking. I wish I could say it all more poetically. And hopefully I will in my songs very soon.

"All we need is love" How true that is!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Best Bad Paid-For Photo

Thank you Ellen Degeneres!!!

She just posted this on her twitter as her favorite "Bad Paid-For Photo".

I must agree.

Classic.



Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Rathskeller & a deer hood-ornament

We played The Rathskeller again tonight. What a cool place.

I literally sang my voice out :) I'll be on vocal rest all day tomorrow.... So I guess blogging is a great way to communicate right now! I've felt pretty crummy all week, but I was just hoping I could make it through tonight! And I did! YAY!!!!
We sure made it worth it tonight.

I'll have to share the highlights with pics when I get them off my camera. I have some very special thanks you's to send out, but I want to do it properly!

I will say that on the way to Indy.... we saw a deer strapped to the hood of an explorer.... Not the roof.... the hood. WHOA. It was pretty.... ummm.... I don't know? Well, it was something special. I wouldn't have even been able to see over the deer to watch the road if I had been the driver. But that is probably the most unlikely thought I have had all day..... me driving a car with a deer strapped to the hood. Yeah. Never gonna happen.

For now. I go to bed :)

Night!