...cooking adventures...

Due to our desire to eat well, we have developed a new found fondness for the sweet potato. Sweet potato fries, sweet potato chips, sweet potato hash browns (not really mashed sweet potatoes) have become staples in our diet.

We recently bought 12 bags of Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips on Amazon because they are our favorite and they are crazy expensive at the store. I love this brand because there are three or four ingredients and they are listed in big bold letters. I've made sweet potato chips at home, and while they were delicious, they took hours and hours to make. 

We've even found sweet potato fries that we love at Trader Joe's, but I'm always looking to save a bit here or there, so when I found this recipe for the perfect, crispy sweet potato fry, I pinned it until the moment I could give it a go...which was tonight.

The most difficult part in working with sweet potatoes is cutting them. They are hard as rocks and it's imperative that you are very careful. I researched the best method for cutting them into fries and I found a few different sites that all gave great suggestions like this one, and this one.

I feel that the best suggestion was to make sure you have a sharp knife. I actually used two, a larger, long knife so that I could use both hands to press the knife through the potato, and a smaller knife to cut the potato into fries. Simply cutting them took 30 minutes!

I let them soak in the water, I preheated the oven to 425, I tossed them in the starch, I drizzled them with olive oil, I spread them out on the pan, and I waited 15 minutes before I opened the oven door to flip them...only to find that they were stuck to the bottom of the pan!

I also think I need to make them thicker. They shrunk considerably in the oven.

I should have known to spray the pan. Some directions shouldn't need to be written down. I put it back in the oven for the final five minutes and then pulled it out and scraped as much of the sweet potato mush off as I could. They were actually pretty good, though they were still a bit raw. 

Unfortunately, I was so caught up in my failure that I didn't take a picture of my meal before eating it. I've been posting pictures of my meals on social media because of this campaign. You might consider joining in! 

If you try to make these sweet potato fries, please follow the instructions for cutting sweet potatoes and take your time.

Also...spray the bottom of the pan. 

...new paths...

Have you ever done something that made you feel completely inadequate? That was me at my very first tennis lesson this evening.

Andy loves to play tennis. He's tried to teach me at the tennis courts near our house, but sadly, for as much as I've tried, it's been a lost cause. Even volleying with me is a disaster as I either miss the ball completely, hit it into the net, or hit it over his head. Me playing tennis is just plain sad to watch.

Upon arriving, I surveyed the people who would be my classmates for the next four weeks. All women, all dressed in cute tennis outfits...and all impressive on the court. I had thought this was a class for beginners, but none of them seemed like beginners to me, especially since they all knew how to hold a racquet and I had to receive special instruction. But each lady was friendly, fun and reassuring of my skills.

I was so insecure for the first 30 minutes that I bit my lip and apologized repeatedly, focusing only on the technique of my newly acquired forehand and backhand skills. The instructors, high school/college students, were all kind and patient. They'd laugh and chat, encourage and instruct. Honestly, I think I got worse as the hour wore on. But they all put me so at ease, that I began to feel safe enough to laugh at myself and have fun.

At the end of the hour, I was surprised at how disappointed I was it was over.

As I venture into my own unchartered waters, I'm still learning how to ignore these intimidating feelings of inadequacy. To accept myself as I am, flaws and all, and enjoy the task of opening a new door in the hopes that it will lead me down new path.

Have you opened any new doors recently? How can I encourage your curiosity?

(ps. Also...are you a tennis pro? Any tips for a beginner?)

...what we leave behind...

Kate left a message asking if I was going to Fair St. Louis this weekend. (She felt it was my kind of adventure!) We made a plan to meet at the fair, and, when Saturday rolled around, we walked our way into Forest Park, along with countless others, to celebrate the 250th birthday of St. Louis.

The day was perfect for a fair! A warm sun accompanied by a cool breeze, the sky a bright blue with the perfect amount of marshmallow clouds. We tramped through the fair grounds, past an endless array of food vendors, with lines a block long, past the Mexican dancers, past the kids corner (where we saw Juggling Jeff) until we found a nice spot stage left to listen to the music and chat before the big fireworks display. I gazed around at the people sitting alongside me, and began to consider all our lives, how we are different, how we are the same.

The top picture shows the smiling faces of the fair goers back in 1914, celebrating the 150th birthday of St. Louis. When I saw this picture earlier this week, I was intrigued about the lives of all these people. I wondered how they celebrated this special event in their lives, how it was different or similar from how I was celebrating. Could they even imagine what life would look like for us now?

Underneath that, is a picture of the faces that graced art hill last night. I couldn't help but wonder what life will look like for the citizens of St. Louis in the next 100 years.

Many of my wild daydreams were aided by what I've seen on screen. Will space exploration and space tourism be a thing? Will the rich leave a broken earth behind and live out in space? Will we be riding hover boards or driving flying cars? Will clones be created for organ harvesting, and will we allow it? What will happen if/when the aliens arrive?

My thoughts were a muddled maze, each turn leading down a different rabbit hole. As the smoke from cigarettes, cigars, hookahs and joints wafted through the air, The Fray performed a moving, a cappella rendition of Just a Closer Walk with Thee. It was a beautiful and odd moment. Surrounded by these people, connected by our humanity and our citizenship, I wondered what beauty (or horror) we will leave behind.

Then today as I was cleaning out some computer folders, I found two old files that Andy and I had created on a whim in 2012, a list of 100 goals we had for our lives. It was an exercise we tried, typing up 100 life goals in 10 minutes. Some of the goals are utterly ridiculous. But there are some that really matter, and it was nice to be able to type, "Accomplished" with the date, next to a few.

It encouraged me as I seek out adventure and meaning and purpose.

Have you made a list of life goals? How close are you to completing them?

...country living...

We had gone to bed late, but for some reason, sleeplessness whispered in my ear at 3:42am and my brain refused to rest. Tired of tossing and turning, I got dressed and climbed out of the tent and into the cool night air around 5am, intent on catching the sunrise.

There is something dazzling about the country. Maybe it's the air, or the
smells (manure and fresh cut grass), or the silence that makes one's
eyes sparkle just a bit brighter.

I paced around the little campground as I waited for the sun to make her
spectacular appearance - two miles worth of pacing.

The sheep and the goats stared at me as I meandered past. I waved.

There is something inherently hopeful in a sunrise.
And it was breathtaking.

Spent the morning fishing and Andy caught a fish!
His first in a long time. 

I held a minnow. My first time ever to touch a fish!
(That wasn't in the shape of a square or a stick!)
It was wiggly and slimey...and wiggly. Super wiggly.
Totally freaked (and grossed) me out!

After fishing, we finished our card game, had lunch, and then headed back to the city. Exhausted from our adventure, we spent the rest of the afternoon napping. 

My eyes filled with tears as he kissed me goodbye and left for work. The best part of vacation is always time spent with Andy, and the worst part is having to go back to our odd schedules, where we barely see each other.

I hope you all have had a wonderful week! I'm so grateful to have people in my corner that encourage me to get out there and experience life and be brave. If it weren't for you, I might just sit at home and watch TV. Thanks for pushing me beyond my comfort zones.

Now you go out and do something brave, too - then tell me all about it! I'm cheering for you!

...splash landing...

If you've seen the way way back, you can imagine the water park that we went to today.

It's an older establishment, a bit outdated, but still tons of fun. There are slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, a kiddie area, and it's the only thing in that area. The owners are kind and the clientele are faithful, so it gets plenty of business. I wondered if any of their lives resembled those of the characters in the movie.

It was only in the high 70s and the water was cold, but you got used to it. The air was cool, but the sun was warm when it wasn't behind the clouds. Though we applied the 70 SPF sunscreen liberally and religiously, Andy and I both got more sun than we wanted.

I relaxed in the lazy river and the wave pool when I wasn't stretched out across a chair reading a book. Andy, on the other hand, went down all the available slides, including this one that plummeted down underground and then forcefully spit you out. I want to do some crazy things, but this is not my idea of an adventure.

All in all, a great way to spend the day! And we stayed all day despite the cold.

Andy trying frog legs at dinner. He's a trier. No, I didn't.

An evening sunset at a little park.

A roman candle. I took shot after shot just to get this one. It's my fav!

Then we went home, went out to dinner, and came home and played more cards. Though the girls won the first night, the guys won the second night, and both games were close!

We curled up together in the tent again, and quickly fell asleep from the long day. 

...today (Wednesday) in pictures...

Andy and I escaped to the country for a few days!  His parents have a small plot of land where they keep their camper, and we headed out there with our camping gear to spend some quality time with them.

Even more awesome than it sounds! ;) The people were extremely friendly
and we had a great time. We're thankful to his parents for letting us visit!

Within five minutes, the InstaTent was up. We're camping pros,
meaning we don't camp without an air mattress! ;)

The view. Even on this dreary day, it was so pretty...

The flora

Riding around in the golf cart, taking a tour of the campsite.

My adventure? I fed sheep and goats! I ran around and pulled up flowers
for them to snack on. They wouldn't let us pet them, though...too skittish!

Andy fed them, too, though that's no surprise considering how much
he adores all animals. Notice how his hand is inside the fence - not me!
Let them come and get it.

The fire ready for s'mores. Ahhh...s'mores!

We explored the area, played cards, shot off some fireworks, and relaxed around the fire. As we climbed into the tent, we found that the air was so cool, Andy and I had to cuddle to keep warm.

My definition of a perfect night!

This is only my second year camping. Are you a camper? Do you have any favorite sites that you've visited?

...US v BEL...

I had no clue...

Congratulations to the Belgium soccer team! Maybe next time USMNT...

Did you know that soccer is the world's most popular sport? I had no idea! We're a bit behind in the States when it comes to "futbal." This little clip gives a pretty clear picture of how most of us view soccer.

So, in an attempt to learn something new, I headed over to Llywelyn's Pub in Wildwood to cheer on team USMNT (I think that stands for United States Men's National (soccer) Team. I did a lot of Wikipedia reading this afternoon!)

There were just a handful of people in the bar. Still, even in a small numbers, there seems to be an instantaneous camaraderie when cheering on your team together. Though I ended up sitting all alone in the restaurant, I was near the bar, so I could hear the sudden outbursts of joy and frustration, which helped me know what was going on.

Sadly, team USMNT was eliminated in round 16 (round 16!!!) but I still had fun, and perhaps I'll learn more over the next few weeks. Next time I want to watch a game, I'll have to drag Andy along so that he can explain the rules to me.

Are you watching the World Cup? Who are you rooting for? Or maybe I should ask, who should I root for now?