CHORES

Kids.
It's time to be honest and say it...the real reason we have them.
It's so they can clean house, right?
RIGHT?
I'm not alone here, I hope.
My parents told me every Saturday that's why they had us.
Well, maybe not out loud.
But it was in their eyes--if I could have seen them behind their sunglasses and the reclined chair, their fingers ordering me to keep picking up sticks, clean the dog cage, mend the clothes, scrub the floor, chop the wood, and then feed them some more grapes.
My siblings don't recall that memory.  But I'm standing by it.  It really was like that.

4-INGREDIENT CURRY AND A STRANGER NO MORE

I don't handle recipes with more than five ingredients well.
(ok, except for maybe this one)

And if there are more than two pots involved, my vision blurs, my hands shake, I get heart palpitations, and I have to go to a dark room and repeat calming mantra meditations.

I may be exaggerating.

But not really.

This would not be a problem, if it weren't for my dear friend Vishakha.  You see, when I lived in Germany, she once made me a bowl of chicken curry, a recipe from her native India.  

I have never been the same since.  

WREATHING HAVOK

There is something magical about a friendly front door.

Like this yellow one...

BABY, BABY, BABY OH!

Yes, the title of this post is a Justin Bieber lyric reference.

Maybe I have the Bieb-ster on my mind because last Sunday at Church a good friend in his 50s said Oakley has Justin Bieber hair.  What do you think?

I HAD A DREAM...

Friends, I am here to tell you that dreams do come true.

Remember this post?  The one where I'm telling you why I want to knit?  To make stockings?  Like the ones that Grammy has been making for her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids?  Did I get enough question marks in this paragraph?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the story has come full circle.

Look:

GONE SO LONG

Oh, hi guys.

You probably don't remember me.  My name is Caeli and this is my blog.

I know... it's been awhile.  404 days to be exact.  And I've missed you.

A lot has happened in 404 days.

For one, we went back in time...

SOMETHING CREATIVE & SCARY

Today I am doing something rather nerve-racking.

And at the risk of great personal injury...and reputation.

Today I am sharing something creative...some creative writing.

When I was younger I wrote lots of stories.
About two of them are finished...and that's only because it was required for the Young Author's Contest in grade school.

One of them is about a twelve-year-old girl who is about to be the youngest person to fly a plane across the Atlantic, when she suddenly crashes and turns into a mermaid and immediately finds a mermaid friend and lives happily ever after.  I wrote that one in third grade.