Today really is Fun Friday because…my parents are coming to visit! In fact, they are on a plane AS I TYPE THESE WORDS. They are arriving at 5:15 (read: rush hour) and lovingly offered to take the MARTA into town so that I could avoid fighting my way out to the airport. It’s a long drive anyway, plus it’s the Friday of a long weekend, so I probably would have had to leave as early as their flight did in order to make it. So, that’s a relief. Furthermore, I think my dad is kind of excited by the prospect of public transportation and discovered a stop right near their hotel, so it’ll be an adventure for them. My mom assured me that if she and I could navigate from Charles de Gaulle into Paris when I had only completed a semester of high school French and she hadn’t spoken it since college, she and my dad could make it into Atlanta. :-)

Once they arrive, we will, as always, focus heavily on eating. Since we’ve moved to Atlanta, it seems that everyone we meet has a restaurant recommendation, and we’ve barely made a dent in what the city has to offer. Since my dad is a beer connoisseur, tonight we will check out The Porter, which is where A’s company took us for our welcome-to-Atlanta meal. Thankfully, we can walk there; parking is a nightmare in Little 5 Points. Tomorrow we have reservations at Wisteria, which my parents read about in the New York Times and is coincidentally right down the street from our apartment. It’s also featured as a deal on Scoutmob, which is always a plus. To round things out, we may brunch on Sunday at Cafe 458, the proceeds of which go to support the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency. (Are you tired of links yet?)

In between all that eating, we’re going to shop for some plants for the mini-balcony at our apartment. I want one of those planter things that hooks onto the rail and is lined with brown moss-like stuff. Hopefully my mom will know a name for that so that I don’t have to walk into a garden center and ask for that. I’d like a mixture of flowers, usable herbs, and maybe some ornamental grasses, but I’ll defer to my mom the horticulture expert as to what varieties will grow best in our area. (I’ll definitely post pictures when we have a finished-ish product!) We’re also going to visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden, per my mom’s request, and maybe check out the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.

It will be so good to see them, even though it hasn’t been nearly as long between visits this time as it was the last time. But, a lot has changed since then, and I’m glad I’ll get to show them my new home!

Fun Friday will even continue into Monday evening, as A and I have been invited to a cookout hosted by one of his co-workers. Monday Musings will likely be put on hold–I may either be in a food coma or burned out from ALL THIS FUN. I can handle it, though. In fact, I can’t wait for it all to get started! So I’m going to stop typing now and get to it!!

My dad makes possibly the best macaroni and cheese in the world. I’ve always thought so. It starts with a bechamel sauce and then gets baked and a nice crust of cheese forms on the top and it is amazing. I’ve made it myself since becoming a “grown up,” but I still think my dad’s is better. But even though I grew up with that at my disposal, there was always something about Kraft Mac and Cheese from a box that I found inescapably alluring. It, rather than the good baked stuff, was a treat for me. Who can understand the brain of a child? I discovered the following recipe on plainchicken.blogspot.com, and I would call it a better version of Kraft. It’s not baked, so it still has that creamy (though not runny) quality that is maybe what attracted me to Kraft. But since the macaroni cooks IN the milk, it is super creamy, and you can play around with what cheeses and spices you add. It has incredible flavor as is, and it’s so easy. It only dirties one pot from start to finish, which I know A appreciates! This past weekend we went camper-camping (as differentiated from tent camping) with some friends, and this was part of my contribution to dinner on Friday. I pre-measured out the noodles, spices, milk, and cheese and just dumped it all in when it was time to start cooking. Anything that can transition to a camping meal and still be delicious is a winner in my book. So without further ado, the recipe: 2 cups large elbow macaroni, uncooked (about 1/2 lb) 2 1/2 cups low fat milk 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional for final season later 1 Tbsp butter 1 tsp garlic powder 1 cup grated cheese of your choice black pepper to taste Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.   In medium sauce pan, add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and garlic powder.  On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mixture to a simmer, stirring the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. Do not leave the mixture unattended! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly. Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to low. Stir frequently. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed. If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water to mixture ( a few Tbsp at a time) until macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 minutes. When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the cheese evenly into the macaroni.  Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes and then serve. (Source) I haven’t tried it with any flavor tweaks yet, but it would be so easy to. I’ve made it with regular-sized elbow macaroni rather than the large she calls for, and I bet you could use fun noodles to do it, too! If you’re wondering what’s for dinner tonight…this could be it

I love reading blogs, and I have such great intentions for my own, but I always seem to get stuck in a rut of only updating when I have done something cool. Especially as I am seeking a job and have more time on my hands, I want to be more intentional about developing this as an outlet: for honing my writing craft and for making connections and cyber networking, as well as for keeping in touch with friends and family. I've decided that I need more structure in order to make that happen. I don't know exactly what I want this blog to be or what it might be able to grow into, but here's what I'm going to try. Each weekday will have a theme:

• Monday Musings, which will be miscellaneous, maybe serious, maybe not, but may also take the form of participating in The Red Dress Society, which will be an outlet for connecting with other bloggers. I'll make sure it's clear when I'm participating in one of their prompts so you don't think I've gone off my rocker.
• Tasty Tuesday, which is  a blog meme that many bloggers I follow participate in, so I will have a place to link up my posts and "meet" people who are doing the same.
• Wordless Wednesday (although y'all know I won't be able to post a picture without a caption. I'll keep it short, though.)
• Thursday's Thoughts will focus on God/church/spirituality. 
• Fun Friday, wherein I will discuss something fun I have done or will be doing that weekend, share a craft or activity, or tell a joke. Or maybe not on that last one.

Don't expect to see ALL of these EVERY week, but know that when you tune into my blog from now on, some of the above should be there. And if I'm ever so inspired, maybe a weekend post of my own choosing. We'll see. But there's no reason right now for me NOT to be posting more often, as I've said I enjoy it and as I have nothing but time on my hands right now. Having this list posted here ought to help keep me accountable.

So now for the today's musings, which are related:
I want to be better at corresponding. I am really good about considering people my "good friends" for a long time, and I remember friendships with great nostalgia. However, calling someone such in my mind doesn't make it so! Maintaining friendships takes work, work that I've realized I'm not great at. I hate sitting down and talking on the phone. I've come to rely a lot on Facebook, and I feel like if I'm keeping up with someone there, we are still in touch. But maybe that's not enough. I don't know what current friends of mine will be lifelong friends. I'd like to assume they all would, but if I don't put forth some effort, they could just as easily slide into memory! There are some people that I internally consider close friends but who, in reality, I am barely in contact with anymore. I want to be more intentional about my contact with people I care about.

Friends, help me do this! How do you like to be kept in touch with? Email, Facebook, text messages, phone calls? I like letters, too, but their high level of latency makes them more of a fun novelty than a great means for actually keeping in touch, especially as fast as the rest of our world seems to move these days. Leave me a comment! I would love to know your thoughts on this. And if you send me your address, who knows? Maybe you will get a letter. :-)