I could not ask for a happier kid nor an easier family to work with…

And the past few nights, my husband and I have sat and watched a little hummingbird that keeps coming to visit them.

It hovers, mid-air, methodically sucking the nectar from each tiny lilac flower, then moving over 1/8th of an inch to the next. It’s pretty amazing, actually.

I finally grabbed the camera to try to take a picture of it. In these first few, I couldn’t quite catch him:

But then I sped the shutter speed WAY up and we finally got a better look at him:
For any photographers who are interested: this is 85mm, 1/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 3200 (hence, the bit of noise)

Pretty neat! However, I was informed by my cousin that this is actually not a hummingbird because hummingbirds don’t have antennae. This is an imposter called the ‘Hummingbird Clearwing.’ Not a bird, but an insect.

So there you go!

A good entomology lesson for the day. And I though I’d share it with you guys!

He won’t even make eye contact with me now.

Also, I would like to state, for the record, that it is March 23 and the lilacs in my front yard are mere hours away from blooming and my crab apple trees have actual leaves on them.

March 23rd?

Isn’t that … ohhh … I don’t know … like, two months ahead of Spring’s usual schedule?

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything. But it is a tiny bit unsettling.

Last thing:

Thank you, Kristen, for mailing me a signed William Fitzsimmons concert flyer from Oregon! 

You even got him to write my name on it (and you must have stressed the spelling because I very happily noticed that he even spelled my name with an “a”).  You are awesome.

I loves me some American folk music, I’m not ashamed to say it.

A little excerpt (sorry Kristen, it’s too sweet not to share) from the note she included with the flyer:

Three beers was enough courage to ask Mr. Fitzsimmons for his autograph.  He was super sweet and gracious.  His real talking voice is surprising.

Thank you so much, Kristen.  Not only are you a good friend who always listens to my ramblings, but you have this knack for sending me the most perfect little gifts that I never knew I wanted and then completely adore.

Key Lime Pie.
Limes grown in the Keys.
It was like an Oprah ah-hah! moment.

Anyway, the pie was so tasty that I started looking for a recipe online after we got home.  And I think I have struck a really good one!  I’ve made it twice so far and it’s gone over really well both times, so I thought I’d share the recipe here.

Before we start, let me just also say that I had no idea key limes were so tiny and cute.  Look how tiny and cute:

Okay, here is what you need. It’s a short list and seems unlikely to make such a delicious pie, but I swear, it does:

• about 15 key limes (for 3/4 c. lime juice and 1 Tbsp lime zest)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
• 1 pie crust

Amazingly, I found the key limes at Cub Foods.  Who knew.  They weren’t over with the bigger Mexican limes, but instead near the green peppers in these little, orange netted bags.  One bag had just enough limes in it.

The first thing I do is wash (water and scrub brush) and dry the outside of the limes.  Then I run them all across the zester until I have 1 Tbsp of lime zest.

Next up, cut the limes in half and squeeze out the juice.  Be prepared for achy fingers by lime #10.

Next, strain the juice into your measuring cup.  This gets rid of any seeds and pulp.

If your bag of limes doesn’t yield 3/4 cup of lime juice, you can supplement with a little bit of extra juice from a Mexican lime or from a little plastic lime juice bottle (you know the ones I mean … the little green bottle that looks like a lime … see how technical I am with this stuff?).

Oh, and one important note:  SAVE ONE LIME!  Keep one lime un-zested and un-squeezed.  You’ll use it later as a garnish.

So now, you need to mix together your 3/4 cup of lime juice, 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 cup of sour cream.

And I know you’re thinking, “Sour cream?  What?”  But I think it really makes the pie.  The filling bakes into a wonderfully smooth, light custard and the sour cream really adds to that.

After you’ve mixed everything together, don’t forget to add the lime zest.

I think this might be the most important step, actually.  Because those little green flecks in the filling are the difference between store-bought and “I made this from scratch, people!”

Then you just pour the filling into a pie crust. 

I am no martyr, so I use store bought crusts. 

But if you are a better baker than I (which, let’s face it, is highly likely), you could definitely make your own crust from scratch.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees until you start to see tiny, little bubbles (teeny tiny, like the size of the head of a pin) start to rise to the surface.  The original recipe said 5-8 minutes, but it took me about 12 or 13 minutes both times.  DO NOT BROWN the pie, though.  You’re not cooking it to brown it.  You’re heating it up to get it to marry together and get smooth and custard-ey.

Cool it in the fridge for a few hours and you’re ready to go!

I topped each piece with a little Cool Whip and a slice from the “saved garnish lime.”

And you could even serve yours on actual dishware! You know, in case you don’t roll with plastic-ware the way we often do.

Well, that’s it.  If you try the recipe, let me know how it goes!

Happy eating!

In other running news, I’m running a promotion for indoor photography sessions for newborns, babies, and little tikes.  Tell your friends!  Tell your neighbors!  Tell your Target checkout lady!

If you would like to view the entire ad, you can click here or click the image below:

The conclusions of the studies were all the same:  people’s satisfaction with their life-experience ‘purchases’ — anything from seeing a movie to going on a vacation — tended to start out high and go up even higher over time.  On the other hand, although they might be initially happy with that shiny new laptop or the latest in fashion, their satisfaction with these items always waned with time.

And although I am not willing to completely cut creature comforts out of my life, that article has stuck with my husband and me and I think it has helped guide us into some of our very best and very happiest experiences and memories (some as a family and some as a couple) over the past few years.  From Twins games, State Fair visits, and family “up north” getaways, to bigger trips like Disney World, San Francisco, and London.

And last week, my husband and I took a little trip to Key West.

And it was wonderful.  My husband did a lot of traveling for his job during October and November and he was beat (stressful traveling and working long days is no fun) and I was beat (solo parenting for long stretches of time is also no fun).  And our time together in Key West was about as well-timed and as well-needed as a vacation could be.

We didn’t do anything fancy while we were there, but it was still perfect.

We took in a little night life:

We jet-skiied 26 miles around the island (I can verify that jet-skiing on the ocean is absolutely nothing like jet-skiing on a lake … I thought I was going to die 3/4 of the run):

We came to the conclusion that absolutely everything is bigger in Key West:

We enjoyed the inbred, six-toed, island cats and the crazy, wild roosters that were everywhere — from the sidewalks to the gift shops to the beach.

We watched the Top Gun jets fly over the island for their tactical training (there are 3 tiny jets in the sunset picture).

Hi Maverick!

And we just generally took in the sights and sounds of island life.

My satisfaction with this trip is definitely in line with the conclusions of that study.  I am so happy my husband and I had this experience together and I know I will love and appreciate the memories even more as time passes.

Our time on this planet is short.  I think taking time out — time to let life wash over you and warm you from head to toes — is really what it’s all about.