Here's To You, Mom

We don't celebrate our mothers enough.  They pour everything they have into making us who we are, being there for us in every way possible and giving us the best road map to life - at least mine did.  

I live several hundred miles away from my mom - so I won't be with her this Mother's Day.  Here's one of the funniest stories of how much I miss my mom sometimes:

My mom would occasionally travel for work, and if my memory serves me correctly, I would miss her like crazy.  One trip I remember we were getting ready for school and my Dad was trying to fix my hair.  All I wanted was a simple braid, Dad.  What do you mean you don't know how?  There were tears, and possibly a stuck hair brush.  Luckily, my older sister came to the rescue in mom's absence, unstuck the hairbrush and whipped up a braid.  (Dad I love you for teaching me to not throw like a girl, knock down walls and take a fence apart -  hair just wasn't your thing.)

The moment Mom pulled up to the house I ran out the front door only to fly off the slippery, wet porch and knock the wind out of myself in my landing.  Mom bought me a new Barbie on her trip, so the pain quickly dissipated.

Here's to you, Mom, and to my future Mother In-Law, with whom we are celebrating today.

Strawberry Scones
2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cups European style butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 cup cut fresh strawberries
1 cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 440 degrees F; lightly flour a baking sheet.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.  Ad the butter and blend by hand until the mixture resembles oatmeal.  Add the strawberries.

Mix yogurt in to produce a dough that is a bit sticky but not wet.  Add more yogurt if mixture is dry.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and lightly knead for a few seconds.  Pat it out until it is about 1 inch thick.

Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out 2-inch rounds and place on the cookies sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Optional Glaze
2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon milk

Mix ingredients together and drizzle on warm scones.

Be Inspired

Once again, I was blessed with my role at Kerrygold.  I attended the Big Traveling Potluck - hosted by Pam and Maggy of Three Many Cooks and Erika of the Ivory Hut.  These women go above and beyond to bring the blogging ("digital publishing") community together under one roof.  

Kerrygold Skellig Stuffed Prosciutto Wrapped Dates

The First Annual (at least I hope!) Big Traveling Potluck was held in Murrieta, California.  The weekend was full of delicious food, amazing people, beautiful scenery and all kinds of inspiration.    

Some of my favorite moments:

From Melissa Lanz of The Fresh 20 - Develop a personal mission statement.  I had a wonderful discussion with Melissa and will always remember her advice, "don't be afraid of change." 

From Matt Armendariz - Be kind to yourself and remember it's okay to step away from it all from time to time to gain a clear perspective.

From Helen Jane - Claim your power name, Billy Ocean did.

From Ree Drummond - You know, The Pioneer Woman...  What has she learned about food blogging?  Some of my favorites: Exercise more, blog as if you were talking to your sister and don't be afraid to embarrass yourself.    

From Barrett Ward, fashionABLE, and Jeannine Harvey, ONE - even small actions can make a difference.  Barrett told the story of fashionABLE.  So moving, check it out and be sure to buy one of their really beautiful scarves.

Now that I have been inspired by a wonderful community, I need to put the inspiration to good use.  Step one, build my personal mission statement.  Step two, be kind to myself.  Step three, be proud of my power name!  Step four, don't forget to use the treadmill and remember that it's good to be embarrassed every once in a while.  Step five, even small actions can make a difference, think about how I can help others.