Time for another season of So You Think You Can Dance.

My girls and I are absolutely riveted by this show. Not by the well-meaning (though cringe-worthy) fellow who invented The Wiggle and got the audience to do The Ocean. Or by the moron who stood on stage for his audition, railing at how the show makes people “sell out” (my 18yo was yelling at the screen during that segment), and then blamed the judges for his lack of focus and less-than-stellar performance (that guy was such a jerk!).

No, we are riveted by the beauty of what some truly talented folks can do with their bodies. We are riveted by the expression of emotion through movement. We are riveted by the stories of hope and survival that enrich some of these dancers’ performance.

Last night we cheered during the Season 9 Premiere when the show introduced Bree Hafen, a 29-yr old mother of 2 from McKinney, Texas. Not only were we excited that their family appears to be LDS (our Mormon radar when ding!ding!ding! seeing the photo of the temple in their home), but also that she is a mom chasing a dream, and she’s GOOD. (*note: I find some of my favorite new music from SYTYCD. Bree performed to Ingrid Michaelson’s “Sort Of,” which has now been downloaded to my iPhone!)

sorry it's so fuzzy! this is best I could do during her fabulous routine.

We will definitely be cheering her on when the show gets to the Vegas trials!

And speaking of a Mom with a Dream…

Every year as I watch this show, the same ache settles in my gut – a solid wish that I could dance. Not like some of these people dance (I could never hope to have that kind of talent), but enough to move and express myself and not fall flat on my face.

Maybe they need to come up with a new reality show: So You Think You Want to Learn How To Dance with the So You Think You Can Dance All-Stars. Get some of the past contestants to pull regular ol’ folks like me on to a dance floor and teach us how to move. I would definitely sign up for that!

_____________________________________________________________

So You Think You Can Dream {SYTYCD, Season 9!} is original, copywritten content (unless otherwise indicated) by Stacey Nerdin for her blog Tree, Root, and Twig. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

But here in suburbia, ducks seem to get all gangsta anytime my kids and I try to take a nice walk around a city park.

Case in point:

Today was warm, but with a pleasant breeze, and since we’ll be in Houston Summer Hibernation Mode soon enough, I thought I’d take Eli to visit a local “park,” complete with it’s own “lake.” (Yes, the quotes are necessary. It’s my Oregon-based Nature Superiority Complex showing.)

We entered through the gate (this “park” happens to be fully enclosed) and quickly headed across the quaint little “bridge.” (Sorry, I can’t omit the quote marks even if I tried.)

Ohhh, PHOTO OPP!

But while I was fooling with the app on my iPhone for drawing out the best exposure for this photo – a task that took me maybe 45 seconds – we managed to draw some attention. Some unwanted attention.

Oh, Hi! Um…you’re all fairly little, and don’t you look cute with your mussed up just-out-of-the-water feathers? “C’mon, Eli,” I called to my son “let’s just cross the rest of that bridge.”

But our posse followed us.

Ok, a leeeetle too close for comfort!

But when I whipped around, I saw about six more ducks emerging from the water in front of us. My son started running to the nearby gazebo, where three LARGE ducks were waiting.

That’s when my son shrieked a little, and I started getting worried.

But I got really worried when we scooted around our first little gaggle of gangsta ducks, only to find two HUGE ducks stationed in the center of the bridge.

Why are there no pictures of this, you ask? Because my camera was in my pocket while I used both hands to scoop my child up into my arms to keep him from being eaten.

I’m sure I looked like an idiot charging the ducks on the bridge, hollering at them as I passed, but it made them back off enough to get us to the other side.

On the way back out through the gate, my son spotted a large rock with a dedication plaque on it and ran over to it. “What does it say?!” he asked. But to my ABSOLUTE HORROR, when I walked over to read the plaque to him, I spotted a sweet, yellow, fuzzy DEAD duckling just above the plaque on the rock. WHAT THE????!!!!

We got back to our car and it took every rational thought in my head not to lock it once we were inside. Such an entirely creepy experience, and it all transpired in just the space of 5 or 6 minutes.

Before we drove away, my son observed in a worried tone, “Look, Mom, the gate is blowing open” (and indeed, it had – the breeze had picked up). Let’s just hope those ducks didn’t get a good look at my license plate!

Tell me: have you ever had a crazy run-in with aggressive suburban ducks?

___________________________________________

When Suburban Ducks Attack is original, copywritten content (unless otherwise indicated) by Stacey Nerdin for her blog Tree, Root, and Twig. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

If you’re a regular reader, you may have noticed a significant lack of personal posts lately. If you’re a new reader or just stopping by, you’ll have to take my word for it: my blog has been awash in sponsored posts, moreso than usual.

But I’m not here to apologize for that or declare that I am putting the “me” back in my blog.

The same way I feel that a blog doesn’t need to have a niche, I feel a blog doesn’t need to have a static purpose and fill a static need for the blogger or the reader. Maybe that’s bending the laws of blogging physics too far, but I believe a blog is a living, organic thing coming from a living, organic mind – and it’s sometimes going to follow the winding, complicated life path of the blogger.

Lately, my own winding, complicated life path has left me uninterested in sharing a lot of personal stories. If I did, chances are they would sound a lot like this: blahblahblah-alone-blahblahblah-moving-blahblahblah-don’t know where-blahblahblah-graduation-blahblahblah-stress-blah-blah-stress-blah-stress-stress.

My family is on the cusp of not one but MANY significant life changes, and it has me wanting to hunker down instead of chatting it up on my blog. But I don’t want to lose this lifeline altogether, and the product posts are still fun and a great distraction from rocking back and forth, keening in the corner.

A favorite author, Brené Brown, teaches that there is power in vulnerability, and that to live with our whole hearts we need to “talk about the things that get in the way” (like vulnerability, fear, stress, etc). Maybe I should be experimenting more upon her word, and maybe I will. And maybe that will be here on the blog, and maybe it won’t.

I do look forward to the day my life path takes a turn and the road ahead is straighter, clearer. And I’m guessing that when it does, this blog will, too.

_______________________________________________

What Was I Saying? is original, copywritten content (unless otherwise indicated) by Stacey Nerdin for her blog Tree, Root, and Twig. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

On May 1st, Scholastic launched its Mother Daughter Book Club to help families like ours explore great new books together. The book club – which will feature monthly selections aimed at readers 8-12 years old – launched with 4 titles: Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood, Pie by Sarah Weeks, The Boy on Cinnamon Street by Phoebe Stone, and Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates by Eva Gray, and there will be 2 new featured titles each month.

The Scholastic Mother Daughter Book Club website is a great resource for beginning a reading adventure with your own daughter, or even a group of other mothers and daughters. A brief synopsis on each book is provided, along with it’s relative genre. There are also links to author bios, discussion guides, links for “where to buy,” and suggested recipes for including in your book club evening or event. Finally, readers can enter a monthly sweepstakes to win a book club Skype chat with one of the featured authors.

GIVEAWAY: To celebrate the launch of the Scholastic Mother Daughter Book Club, Scholastic is giving away one (1) fantastic prize pack valued at $140, which includes:

• all four books from the May 1st launch
• -plus- the 2 books chosen as the picks for June – Whatever After by Sarah Mlynowski and The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
• -plus- a $50 VISA Gift Card to host your own Mother Daughter Book Club!

Scholastic Mother Daughter Book Club Giveaway: 6 Books and a $50 VISA Gift Card is original, copywritten content (unless otherwise indicated) by Stacey Nerdin for her blog Tree, Root, and Twig. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Thank you COOL WHIP for sponsoring this post. Join us on Facebook for inspiration and recipes for everyday treats. What you add makes it. #coolwhipmoms

—

My 4yo often starts the day by asking for some kind of sweet treat. You’ve got to love his optimism that there’s a chance I’ll say yes, but each morning he settles for his cereal and juice, buoyed by the promise of a treat at the end of the day .

And indeed, nearly every day, when all the snacks and meals are said and done, my kids and I regularly like to enjoy some type of treat together. Sometimes even more than the bustle of dinnertime, sitting down for a everyday treat brings out conversation between my family and we enjoy a relaxing moment and time together.

My husband has a special talent for making everyday treats – cookies, tarts, cakes, even pies. But since he works out of town during the week, we’re left to my very basic talents in the kitchen. Good thing everyday treats can still be simple treats, and are made even better with a taste of COOL WHIP whipped topping. Especially important to me are recipe ideas that are quick and involve ingredients I might already have on hand or can easily use again for other recipes.

Recently we tried a frozen twist on a strawberry “shortcake,” made with graham crackers, strawberry frozen yogurt, and COOL WHIP whipped topping.

Start by lining the bottom of a bowl with crushed graham crackers – this is the “crust” or “cake” part of the treat. You can make it as chunky or fine as you want.

Next, top with strawberry frozen yogurt and a dollop of COOL WHIP whipped topping. I crushed more graham crackers into a fine powder and flaked it over the COOL WHIP whipped topping.

With the temperature already climbing in the Houston area, this frozen treat was tasty and refreshing.

The COOL WHIP website has dozens of other recipe ideas, including popular favorites, classics, “especially for kids,” and more. Just surfing the site, I found several easy recipes I’d love to try, including one for Sweet Little Fruit Bites. I could definitely see my kids asking for these as an everyday treat!

I also got some new recipe ideas from the COOL WHIP Moms on Facebook – four bloggers sharing their secrets for easy, delicious everyday treats with COOL WHIP whipped topping. My favorite at first glance? The Chocolate Lasagna, submitted by Jenny from Picky Palate. Check out all the Moms and their ideas on Facebook!

*Disclosure: Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

____________________________________________________

A Quick “Everyday Treat” with COOL WHIP Whipped Topping is original, copywritten content (unless otherwise indicated) by Stacey Nerdin for her blog Tree, Root, and Twig. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.