Long Time No See

Hello all!

I'm back from a post-Easter break.  Do you ever do that?  Take a self-imposed timeout for a bit?  I do it often, and it reinvigorates me.  I drop out, regroup and then I'm ready to go again.  It's no secret that I am, by nature, a bit on the hermit side of the fence, so a little step back always does me good.  It's odd to some people, and a part of my character that is often not understood, but I really require it.

I spent time with my family and with old, dear friends.  By the way, is there anything better than watching your kids play with the children of your high school friends?!?  There really isn't.  I am so grateful for such friendships.  Your high school friends know you, I mean they really know you.  For me at least, they know the girl that still had braces in the eleventh grade.  They know all of those coming of age chapters in my life, and they were there when I met my husband and started to grow a family.  I am confident that they will be there indefinitely, and vice versa.  Yep.  Not much cooler than that.  

I avoided packing up my Easter decorations.  That kind of work is definitely not part of a week long Sabbatical.  I did, however, collect all of it to one spot.  Then I spent some time in the kitchen, on the couch, and exploring our new part of the world a bit more.  We had fun, but now it's back to work!

Today's been a cleaning and laundry day, but after that's finished I have a new project.  I'm off to explore kale.  Kale, kale, kale.  All I ever hear about is kale.  Kale smoothies, kale chips, you name it, I need to try it!  I've never eaten it, have no idea how to prepare it and have been intimidated by it.  Weird, right?  All things new take some time, but this week is the week of kale!  It has been purchased, and I welcome any recipes you are willing to share with me.  If they are toddler approved, all the better!  And by "welcome" I mean, I'm begging for recipes.  Thanks in advance.