dandelines design ~Michele Grotenhuis

This photo about sums up 2020! This morning I woke up and did the same thing I do every morning, I got my morning drink, showered, turned on my podcast and began the two hour routine I have begun to embrace since the pandemic. The title of the podcast was, "The Year In Good News" It was The Daily podcast, a New York Times daily podcast that does short daily news briefs, just enough to keep me informed, but not to much to make me worry or think to hard about the world news right now. Todays particular story was a special in which they interviewed people asking them what their good news was for 2020 and it got me to thinking, what about this year has been good for me and I honest to goodness struggled most of the day trying to put together a list of the highlights. This year for me has been the biggest shit show. I have struggled more, been disappointed more and wondered honestly how anything was going to get put back together. If I am being completely honest, which I promise...

It is 12:30am and I am sitting down to make a grocery list for Christmas dinner. For Thanksgiving I cooked my 2nd ever Turkey, the first over 30 years ago that ended in complete disaster. This year since we were all being safe in our own bubble due to Covid, I was unexpectedly charged with the task of turkey making. I have avoided this every year for the past 31 years of marriage until 2020. I love to cook, I love to bake, but for some reason the idea of cleaning, stuffing and baking a turkey does not sit well with me and my plan was to create a menu free of poultry until my oldest son insisted we had to have said bird, it was tradition and must be done. So, began the task of learning how to cook the turkey. I started with a call to my mother who advised me the best she could about how to prepare and stuff the bird, mind you this information is coming from a woman who I shop for weekly and complains about the way I purchase chicken. I had to shop for her not long ago where she ask me ...

For more than a few years I have wanted to do a blog. I am not sure why today except that I have so much on my mind, so many things I would love to share, and full disclosure, I finally got time with my middle son to help me get started. I guess the best place to start is to introduce myself and share why and what I do. My name is Michele and I am the mom to 4 of the most perfect kids! At least perfect in my eyes, there have certainly been bumps in the road and I intend on sharing those bumbs as I become more comfortable with this platform. I have kept journals for years, nothing continous, just bits and pieces here and there. Things I don't want to forget, pictures I use as inspiration, moments to document for others to read when I am long gone. I think another reason I am so delayed in starting this platform is because I LOVE paper. Much to my families uproar of this practice, I still use a paper calendar, I still write notes and mail them to friends. I personally loathe reading ...