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Lessons from the Softball Field

It’s been a few years but I am finally back to sitting on the sidelines watching my daughter play sports. Between my work, my school, my husband’s work and my daughter’s broken leg, we really haven’t been able to devote much time to sports. Now that our schedules are lighter and my daughter’s leg is completely healed, she is back out on the field.

I must say I missed seeing her have fun and learn how to work as part of a team. In addition, participating in sports allows my daughter to understand the importance of time management.  This is especially true in figuring out how to balance homework, practices and games!  She has also extended her circle of friends since she was able to play on an older team.  This is due to her date of birth relative to the cut-off for the specific age brackets. Not to mention, the exercise is good for her too!  Talk about the amount of transferable life lessons.

As I sit on the sidelines, I can truly say I am in awe. My daughter had not played in years and yet she put herself out there.  Softball was something she has always wanted to play and to start on an older team is tough.  She doesn’t remember much from her earlier team-sport experiences.  Plus, it was t-ball and nobody won or lost.  The age bracket she is currently on is child pitched and scores are kept.  Some of these kids have one heck of a pitch too!  But despite the newness of all of this, she shows up and she tries hard to learn what she can from the coaches and the other players.

After most games, the teams have a relay race around the bases.  It is a great way to end the game with everyone rooting each other on and getting out any remaining energy.  One day I sat there and cheered my daughter around the bases, I could see she was running her heart out.  She was towards the end of the lineup and her team had a slight lead over the visiting team.  As she rounded third heading home to tag the next runner, it happened.  In the blink of an eye, my daughter went from full sprint to a dead stop.  Her cleat got caught in a rut and she went down hard.  Face first with barely enough time to put up her hands.  The crowd went from loudly cheering to dead silence.  It was that kind of fall.

I fully expected her to lay on the ground crying and for her team to ultimately lose the relay.  But that is not at all what happened.  Instead, my daughter got right up and finished her leg of the relay.  At that point, you could tell she was holding back the tears and biting her bottom lip as the coach was assessing her for any injuries.   She ultimately did cry after all was said and done.  Despite the pain and some minor scrapes, there were no serious injuries from the fall.   Her team won the game that day but also the relay race.


How many times has this happened to you?  Not literally falling flat on your face, but figuratively.  Honestly there is such a profound lesson in this.  My daughter knew that she had people depending on her and that she needed to do her part and finish.  Despite the pain, she pushed through for her team when it would have been much easier just to stay down and cry.

Sometimes in family or work it is not about us.  Despite everything else, we must push through the pain, heart ache, difficulties and get to the finish line.  Whatever that may be- this is different for everyone.  Knowing that someone is depending on us, gives us a greater meaning and added responsibility.  This could be a child, a parent, a co-worker, a boss, a customer, etc.  I may pause to shed a tear or to eat a pint of ice cream but ultimately, I know that I too must push through because people are depending on me.  Whether we stumble with our children or loved ones or in our career, pushing through some of the difficult stuff will always make us a better person on the other end.

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Father’s Day Treat: Bourbon Pecan Pie

One thing I have noticed over the years.  There are cake people and there are pie people.  Well, my husband falls into the latter.  There isn’t a cake around that will tempt him to eat it.  However, put a pie in front of him and he will certainly take a bite!  Among his most favorite pie recipes to devour is my Bourbon Pecan Pie.  I have to admit it is one of my favorites too!  With Father’s Day coming up in a few weeks, there is no perfect time to break out my recipe and share it with you as I promised in my last blog (which can be read here).

This recipe is super easy to make and so super tasty you will wonder where its been your whole life! My hubs will often bring it to work and inevitably it does not last long.  Now, I will let you in on a little secret- I cannot make pie crust from scratch.  I know, I know-  I can hear the pie Gods cursing my name.  But it’s not for the lack of trying.  All butter, all lard, half butter half lard, hand held pastry blender, food processor, cold bowl, frozen bowl, cold counter, frozen butter, cold hands, etc.  I tried all the tips and tricks and still, I can never get the darn thing to roll out easily.

But not all is lost since there are some phenomenal commercial pie crusts available at the local grocery store.  I buy them all the time because as a working mom and wife, I do not have any interest in spinning my wheels on a crust.  Instead, I would rather concentrate on making the inside of the pie the tastiest it can be.  And that starts with some great quality Bourbon.

Now don’t worry about this being a Drunken Pecan Pie leading to drunken behavior.  Although not all the alcohol cooks off, using such a small amount spread out over the entirety of pie, will not cause any issues in that regards.  Only in the case of religious beliefs or allergies will this be a factor.  Choosing the right bourbon is the make the pie or break the pie kind of deal.  The important thing to remember when selecting a bourbon is its taste.  If it is a smooth sipping bourbon with lots of rich vanilla, oak and caramel undertones, then it is the perfect bourbon to use in this pie.

Some bourbons can be very expensive and if you do not typically drink bourbon it may not be worthwhile to purchase a full bottle to use just a few tablespoons.  Therefore, one budget idea is to ask a friend for a few tablespoons.  Often bourbon is part of most home bar set ups and many friends will not have a problem with donating a few tablespoons.  Especially if it means they may be the beneficiary of a piece of this pie!  Another budget idea is to peruse your local liquor store.  There are a few good quality bourbons available in the 50 mls ‘nip’ size.

Second of importance to the bourbon are the pecans.  Now, being from the Northeast, I pronounce it Pee-can.  Understandably, there are a few other regional ways to pronounce the word pecan.  Here is a link to a great article depicting the regional dialects of the pecan pronunciation.  Regardless of how you pronounce it, make sure you have a variety of pecan styles in the pie.

One mistake is to have all halves, all pieces or all whole.  Have a variety of chops to add to the texture and ‘meatiness’ of the pie.  I usually start with whole pecans.  I keep 1/3 whole, chop 1/3 into half sized pieces and the final third into small pieces.  You can use the whole pieces to decorate the top of the pie by laying them in a pattern before baking.  Again, as a working Mom, that is not on my priority list.  It will still taste the same with or without a fancy pecan pattern!

For the recipe, I am including it on a free download available below.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

I hope you consider giving this recipe a try and that you enjoy this recipe as much as me and my family do.

Leave me a comment below on how you pronounce pecan.


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Father’s Day: Planning Early

Every holiday poses a challenge for me.  Not only do I struggle with my time management around shopping and preparing, but I also often struggle with just the art of gift giving.  Especially for my husband.  You see, he is a very independent person who (although spoils the family) doesn’t really give any holiday much thought for himself.  This is true at Christmas, his Birthday, and also Father’s Day!  He never has any wishes or wants when it comes to gifting.
Do you know one of those people?  The type when you ask what they want and their answer is inevitably “nothing” or “I have everything I need”.  Although the latter may make some swoon, it gives me palpitations.   Not the ‘in love’ cutesy palpitations but the kind that leave you freaking out.  You see, I am one of those who want to give a gift and acknowledge the person.  Furthermore, I want the gift to be something they desire and deserve.
The ultimate irony of this whole thing is that every time I do get an idea of what I want to get him, he comes home with it! Yep.
Every.
Single.
Time.
There was the ice fishing shack incident, the trail cam incident, the latest movie incident, and the various tool incidents.  I now just assume he somehow reads my mind and right when I am about to purchase something for him, he pounces first.  We laugh about it.  Well, he laughs and I chuckle to the best of my ability.
So assuming this will happen again this year, I set out on a trek to find something for him and along the way wanted to share some great ideas with you.  I needed to start planning this early so that if I need to make a last minute change, I will have enough time.
Below, you will find some ideas I am looking at for my husband.  He is more of an outdoors kind of guy and so this genre of a gift guide suits him best.
Here are some unique gifts for the career oriented Dad:

Last but not least, here is a gift guide for the sports lover in your life.  There are some ideas in here that cross over to the career gift guide as well.

I hope some of my ideas help you plan what you are gifting for Father’s Day.  So far, I know one thing for sure that my husband will be getting come this Father’s Day.  I will make him his favorite Bourbon Pecan Pie.  It is absolutely out of this world delicious!
I will share that in my next post…

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