Juggle juggle

:: Last week, a few granny smith apples and a captivated family audience made for an impromptu showing of Matt's juggling skills that he developed somewhere in the boredom of youth. Karis was completely enthralled, giggling and wide-eyed.

She forgot about that show until yesterday when, in the middle of her bath, she began "juggling." She juggled all through her bath, during the walk to her room to get dressed, and throughout the rest of the afternoon. She would stop me periodically and make sure I knew exactly how it's done. With her hands full of imaginary juggling balls, she'd look at me and say, First you have to throw them up in the air like this. Then, her body straight as a board and arms out in front of her, she'd toss them up and begin moving her hands up and down to mimic the characteristic motion of rapid catch and release.

It's cute and all, but I'm a little afraid that if I encourage this sort of behavior, she'll end up like that guy in college who road around campus juggling while riding on his unicycle.

And, no, that wasn't my husband.


:: I've been doing my own juggling act of sorts lately. Writing one article a month for a local publication wouldn't seem like a big undertaking, but when you add that to what is essentially a season of single parenting due to Matt's busy schedule right now, I feel like I'm spinning many plates. Unlike Karis and Matt, I fear my juggling skills are a little lacking, evidenced by the mess and curious odor in my kitchen at this very moment.

So what do I do? I ask to write a second article for the upcoming issue. I'm writing a restaurant review, and the truth is, I'm really excited about the opportunity. On Monday, I went to meet the owner of a local Ethiopian restaurant, and I tasted and loved (!) the food. The above picture is a little preview of what's to come.

Click here (scroll down to pg. 9) to read the latest article I wrote where I reminisce about childhood baseball memories with my father. It was a fun piece to write.