H.A. Larson's Blog, page 62

The Adventures of Mom and Nature Girl

You all know how much I love, love being outdoors, and particularly my love of hiking. Hiking is the perfect combination of leisure and sport, getting to spend time in beautiful nature while getting a good workout. Nothing could be finer! My kids have, obviously, been hiking with me for quite some time, and now that my oldest is a teenager, he doesn't go out and do things (including hiking) with us very much anymore. My husband, until recently, worked weekends, but now has Saturdays off. That still leaves Sundays for my youngest and I to get out there and enjoy nature.
We love it. It's perfect for mommy-daughter special time, we get some fresh air & exercise, and we collect things we find on the trails. To that end my daughter said to me recently on one of our hikes, "Mommy, we should make a nature scrap book!" I thought about it for all of two seconds and responded, "That's a fantastic idea!" It was a fantastic idea, and, as soon as we got done hiking, we stopped by the dollar store to grab some scrapbook-making supplies.
We made the scrapbook using a sketch pad, some poster board, and plenty of decorative supplies. It took a few days of patiently waiting for glue to dry, but we are happy with the results. (See the first two pictures.)
This last weekend, we took a leisurely walk through the forest around Cunningham Lake, and the nature pictures following are from that walk. The items we collected from that day didn't survive the trip home, but it's okay...there is plenty of opportunity in the future!



Here's the scrapbook itself. It's a large sketch pad covered in green poster board and decorated. It says, "Eva and Mommy's Nature Scrapbook".



Here is the first page of our scrapbook, containing of flora and fauna that we collected from the day we decided to make our scrapbook. I made a post about that hike, in Hummel Park, recently, which you can find here.



This is a picture from our Cunningham Lake walk. It was a gorgeous, albeit easy, walk.



Wildflowers are one of the frequent things we see on our nature walks/hikes.



Fungi growing right along the trail. Horses ride here too, so I'm sure the dung helps fungi grow. Ha!



More wildflowers along Cunningham Lake.



Nature Girl (NG) striking a pose near some pretty overgrowth we found.



A better shot of the overgrowth. It reminded me of a swamp or a place that time forgot. Either way, it was really cool.



More wildflowers.



A dying dandelion in the sun. 


I hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday (yay, we made it through Monday), and we'll see you soon!
Much love,
H.A.

Ipsy's September Glam Bag

Good afternoon! It's a gorgeous afternoon on a Saturday, and I'm having a fantastic day so far. I mean, Saturday is the best day of the week, amirite? So, as I promised yesterday, here's the post about September's ipsy. Let's dive right in!


Here's the bag itself. It's not my favorite of the bags, but it's still pretty cool.



Every month has a different theme, and the bags and samples inside reflect the theme. With every glam bag comes a card that tells you what the theme is, as well as what that theme means. I've realized that I've never shown you pictures of the cards, nor have I told you what the themes are! Geesh, what's up with that? Well, fear no longer. This month's card and theme is "Glamazon: Too glam to give a damn."



The contents of the bag.



This is a hair-styling crème by Living Proof, called Perfect Hair Day. Like I mentioned last month, I'm really getting into the hair products ipsy sends. They're fun to play around with.



Here we have Lip Injection by Too Faced Cosmetics. It's a liquid gel that is supposed to plump up your lips. I remember having a clear gel gloss, years ago, that did the same thing. It makes your lips feel weird, but it did plump them up. This will be perfect for date night! *winkwink*



This is Avene's Hydrance Optimale. It's a moisturizing lotion for your face. I always include moisturizing as an essential part of my skin-care routine, and the samples I get from ipsy are a great way to explore different moisturizers before committing the money.



DLS (Dirty Little Secret) sent along a sheer, brownish-reddish eyeshadow that doesn't have a name. It says teaser on the box and on the shadow, but I'm pretty sure that's not what the shade is called. I always love eyeshadow...one can never have enough!!



Last up is treStique's lip color in shimmer. If it looks familiar to you, that's because it is. I received this exact same lip shade a few months ago in my ipsy bag. Since I now have two, I think I will use one as a top coat to darker lipstick to give it some oomph.


And there you have it, another month of ipsy. I really love this sub, and it's so affordable. If you're interested, follow this link to join. This link is my referral link where I can earn points if you sign up!
Have a great Saturday,
H.A.

I Never Really Left

Good morning! It's Friday, and it seems like as good a time as any to let you all know that I've started working on "The Box" again. "Why?" you ask. Well, I hadn't been planning on it (as I've been working on a different project entirely), but it just happened. I was sitting in my living room recently, when my brain kicked into high gear and started hashing out the storyline in "The Box", and I began subconsciously writing the next bits in my head. So, I did what any writer (who writes at their computer) does, and that was to open up my laptop and start writing.
My other project is more involved, and will take some time to write. I suppose that because of this, my writer's brain can become distracted. Okay, so I'm just guessing, because, honestly, every writer is different. There's no one, true way to be a writer, and there's no one, true way to write. We write because we feel compelled to, and however that comes out is how we do it.
"The Box" is more in line with my other books in that it is an entertaining book, while not perfect, is a fun read. It is also not the kind of book that takes a year or two of effort to complete. The other project I'm working on is, and it's been a bit of struggle to make myself accept that. How I've done things with H.A. Larson's books is not how this other project is, so I need to learn to be okay with that. Why wouldn't I be okay with it? Well, I thought I should be churning it out at the same speed with which I've written my other books, and it's just not the case. Sometimes you have to remember that not everything works in the same manner...not even your mind.
Taking a step away from "The Box" for awhile has been good for me. I can now look at it with fresh eyes, and I feel positive about it's direction again. I can't wait to finish it! In the meantime, I'll be here giving you the great posts you all love. Coming up this weekend, new ipsy!
Have the greatest of Fridays!
Much love,
H.A.

Sunday Exploring

Good morning! I'm back with another post. Incidentally, I've been pondering working on "The Box" again. I just can't stay away from anything that I'm writing. I'm working on two books, and two short stories, and while I take breaks from each of them, I never truly leave them. Weird, huh? Oh, the life of a writer.
This last weekend was a truly wonderful one. I wish it could've lasted a lot longer, but we all know how that goes! Anyway, we drove down to Kansas City on Friday night so we could attend the Renaissance Festival on Saturday (squeee! you all know how much I love my Ren Faires!). My husband forgot to pack our luggage, which was traumatic for a minute, but since we were only gone one night...it wasn't a big deal. We grabbed some clearance clothes from a store to wear to bed, I washed our underwear in the sink, and I always carry toiletries in the car in case of an emergency. Go me! Despite the luggage mishap, we had a great time at the Festival.
Sunday, the menfolk went to work while us ladies relaxed all morning. We then picked up the house and decided to hit the woods. Hummel Park sits in the northeast corner of Omaha, and I've only hiked it a couple of times. One time was more like a walk, and the other I went a few miles, but I have never truly explored the park. Nature Girl (my daughter) and I took our time and took all the different off-paths and interesting trails. We saw so many cool things, and collected fallen leaves that are turning colors. We decided to make a nature scrap book out of things we collect on our nature hikes, so we stopped at the Dollar Tree on our way home where I spent $6 on supplies to make a cool scrapbook (another post for the future!)
We had so much fun, and really enjoyed our time together. Here are some pictures from our afternoon:



 This trail was hidden, just out of sight, from the main path. I've walked the main path before and had never seen this trail. It was a bit of challenge getting down actually, but the rope there made us able to kind of scale it.



These fungi were growing on the little bridge in the previous picture. There are many of them, and they are embedded in the wood.




A fallen log, fit for a faerie home.




A portion of the main trail as sunlight streams in through the trees.




One of the many leaves we collected for our scrapbook.




More fungi from the bridge, but this one was different from the others. How interesting is that?




Another off-trail we explored took us over the creek that runs through the park.




Some man-made log stairs in a nook of the park. Great for explorin'!

FYH Vegan Egg & Breakfast Sandwiches

Good morning! I'm working at my desk on this fine Sunday after fueling up on a properly large and delicious breakfast sandwich, washed down with a cup of coffee. You all know I'm vegan, and for awhile now I've been hearing about Follow Your Heart's (FYH) Vegan Egg. I first heard of FYH when someone on one of the vegan facebook pages I follow posted their Vegan Bleu Cheese dressing. I really missed Wedge Salad, so I set about the streets of Omaha to find some. To my disappointment, I discovered, at that time, that FYH products weren't sold here. So, in an effort to get what I wanted, I asked my local Akin's if they could special-order it for me. They did! After I bought all their first case, I had them order more. 
I noticed, not long after that, that Hy-Vee started carrying a couple of their sliced cheeses, and now, a few months later, I can find a good selection of FYH at all my usual vegan haunts: Hy-Vee, Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, and Akin's. I was in Natural Grocers stocking up on Daiya (it was on sale!), tofu, Better than Bouillon, TVP, and nooch (nutritional yeast), and I ran across FYH's vegan egg. I brought some home and immediately set about making my usual breakfast sandwich. This sandwich is composed of a chickpea omelette (find a recipe for this in my Cooking & Recipes tab), Daiya shreds (or any other vegan cheese you prefer), and homemade TVP sausage. This time, instead of the chickpea omelette, I used the FYH egg.



I have to say, I cannot believe how much like an egg this stuff looks, smells, and tastes like what I remember eggs as. I didn't scramble it, as suggested, but otherwise followed the simple instructions. I fried it as a small, whole, eggy omelette. I topped it with the Daiya shreds, and then my homemade TVP sausage. It was amazingly delicious!  You have to try this stuff.




This is the finished sandwich! Here's the recipe for the TVP sausage. The only differences I do with the sausage is that I double the recipe and then add 3/4 cup of vital wheat gluten. I keep these on hand for making sandwiches, for crumbling on pizza, or throwing into some pasta.
Enjoy!

August Subscriptions

Good morning! I'm back with another post about my monthly subs. If you follow my blog you already know that once a month I get an Ipsy and a Lousiville Vegan Jerky subscription. Today, I'm going to combine both into one post.



Here's my August Ipsy sub bag and it's contents.


This is Neuma's hair-styling, smoothing crème. I've gotten some interesting hair care products from Ipsy, and I'm starting to use them on the weekends. Why only weekends? Because I only do basic makeup and hair for work. It's just too time-consuming to go all-out for work, besides, I believe in saving my best looks for going out and such.



This is the second Formula X nail polish I've received from Ipsy. The first was a gold, and this is a pale, opaque pink. It's called Dollface.



This three-toned bronzer from Beaute Basics looks interesting. I've received one other bronzer from Ipsy and like that one, I'll use this one as a blush. I admit, I'm not into bronzing or contouring. I only do contouring on the very rare occasion, but they make really great blushes. I'm excited to try this one out.



This is tarteist mascara from tarte. I'm excited to try this! I love the different mascaras I've gotten over time from Ipsy, and since this is my first product from tarte, I'm, again, excited.



This is a liquid lip color from Trust Fund Beauty. It's not the first product I've gotten from them, from Ipsy, although it's the first liquid lip color from them. My last item from this line was a nail polish. Ipsy has a theme every month, and they base it off your personal profile, so this and the pale pink nail color are part of that.



Last, but not least, is my Louisville Vegan Jerky subscription! I love this sub so much! In fact, the one on the far left (the Maple Bacon) is from last month's sub because I try and stretch them out to make it to the next month. I guess I succeeded!
Anyway, the sub is one bag of a test flavor and two bags of their standard flavors. This month's test flavor is Sweet Chili Garlic. YUM! It's my new favorite next to the Carolina BBQ one, and this one packs a kick. It's got the flavor of sweet thai chile sauce with a backnote of garlic. How can you go wrong?!
The other two flavors are the Bourbon Smoked Chipotle and Bourbon Smoked Black Pepper. I love both of those, as well as the Maple Bacon from last month. Oh, hell, I love them all!


I hoped you enjoyed my subs as much I did. Have a fantastic day!
Love, H.A.

A Weekend in Iowa

A view of a pond in Broken Kettle Grasslands.


A different pond in BKG.


One of the many bison that help the Nature Conservancy maintain BKG.


Another view of the bison, looking up towards one of the Loess Hill ridges.


The female bison--who was in heat--being chased by a male.


A view over the Loess Hills at BKG.


A view of the Iowa landscape from the gravel road that leads to my dad's house. The clouds were gorgeous this Sunday.


The old cemetery where my family is buried.


My husband and I are both originally from Northwest Iowa. This last weekend, we made the short journey up there to visit friends and family, and ended up having a really nice trip.
One of my nearest and dearest friends from high school works for the Nature Conservancy. She took me over to Broken Kettle Grasslands--located in the Loess Hills north of Sioux City, Iowa--where I got a VIP tour of the land. It's got a visitor center, but past that, no visitors are allowed, so it was a treat for me. We took a UTV up and down the hills, having a great time, where I got to see the bison that help maintain the land; the pens where the bison get their yearly "check ups"; the different flora and fauna of the Loess Hills; and, of course, the wide, sweeping views of the countryside seen from the top of the Iowa Mountains (my nickname for the Loess Hills). We could see 25 miles north to the Dakota Dome, which is located in Vermillion, SD. After a good three hours, and a nice sunburn later, we left the BKG and stopped in LeMars where we ate lunch and had margaritas.
That evening, I retrieved my husband and daughter, and we went back over to my friend's house where we grilled a delicious meal of cauliflower, portabello mushroom caps, and some roasted veggies. We capped off the evening by making it to my husband's friend reunion. Every year, his friends have a reunion, and while there wasn't many of us there, we still had a nice visit around a campfire in the woods with some beers.
Sunday we spent some time with both my mother-in-law and my folks. As we were just getting out on the road, I thought about the family graves out at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. My paternal grandparents helped my dad raise me, and, because of it, I was very close with them. I was especially close with my grandmother, who was essentially my mother, and her death still effects me deeply, even after fourteen years. I haven't been to the cemetery since they laid her to rest, so I knew it was time.
It was quite an emotional moment for me to stand over my grandparents, and I cried deeply as I thought about how much I missed them. I was glad to see them at the same time. Next to their graves is a joint grave. Buried there were my grandma's two younger brothers who died from scarlet fever, and buried at their feet are my brother and sister. My siblings were twin preemies, who were born nearly two years before me. One was stillborn, and the other lived briefly. For years their graves went unmarked, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that their names had been engraved on the tombstone (thanks Dad). Next to those four, lie my grandmother's parents...my great-grandparents. While I had never met them, since I spent lots of time with my grandma, I felt like I knew them since she kept their memories alive with stories.
After that, we headed home, where we make it in time to relax for a few hours before beginning a new work week. My husband got to spend time with his family so was very pleased with the weekend as well.
Until next time,
H.A.

I've Updated!

Hey everyone! So, I've been thinking for awhile now that what this website needed was a face lift. After tossing around a few ideas, this is what I came up with. I made the background myself using a few images (I've gotten quite good at photo editing), and then based my fonts and colors around it. I chose the images and style that I did because I love adventure. 
Whether it's here, abroad, traveling, dancing, hiking, reading, or loving, I'm all about adventure. I spent so much of my life letting it pass by me, that I forgot to live. As you know from following me here all these years, that I like to live my life to the fullest whenever possible. It seems only fitting that my blog reflects that style.
There's another dimension as well. When I went through my major shift at the dawn of my 40th birthday, I made changes in my life. As another five years has almost passed me by, I feel another shift approaching. I've been through a lot these past five years, and you've been there with me through it all. Life has fallen into place for me really, and I'm more than ready to fill it with memories and moments. 
Join me, will you?  

Much love,
H.A.

Deep, Dark, and Lovely is Available!

Deep, Dark, and Lovely is now available for Kindle at Amazon! It's only $0.99 cents, and can be found by clicking here. I'm not poet of the century, but I'm proud of it nonetheless. This will be the only book of poetry I'll ever put out, but I might add to the book at a later day. We'll see!
My weekend has been going great so far, I'm free of kids, having to chauffeur, or anything else, so I've already been adventurous. Today, I will continue. Look for a post on that coming soon!
Have a fantastic day!
Yours truly,H.A.

Announcement

Good morning! I hope this post sees you well and happy.
You all know I've been on a hiatus while I write my other book. When I mean book, I do not mean "The Box", that book will be finished eventually, but it's the hiatus. Anyway, some of you may remember that awhile back I had mentioned a few times that I was writing a book of poetry. Well...it's finished and being e-published as we speak. It's just a short little book of emotional poetry written during some of my darkest days--hence the title--and will be selling for a nice price of only $0.99.
Of course, I'll keep you updated as to when final publication is done (probably in about 12 hours), and you can go check it out! Another project is complete and it's always a good feeling.
I hope you enjoy it!