Kara Wahlgren

wordsmith. grammar champion. picture taker.

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An Ongoing List of Things I Might Be Doing When I’m Not Writing

July 22, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

A few months ago, I photographed an engagement session at Independence Park. While I was angling the bride and groom to avoid having a ton of tourists milling around in the background, it hit me: People had traveled from all over to see this place, and here it was, practically in my backyard, and I hadn’t been there to visit since middle school. I’d shot a couple of weddings and e-sessions, but hadn’t actually walked over to the Liberty Bell, or stopped by Constitution Hall. There are so many local things I’ve been “meaning” to do, so I want to see how many of them I can check off the list! I’m including links for anyone else local to Philly/South Jersey/the Jersey Shore.

♥♥♥

[X]  Go to Longwood Gardens.

[X]  Do an art project on “second Sundays” at Philly’s Magic Gardens.

image from phillymagicgardens.org
image from phillymagicgardens.org

 

[X]  Walk through Batsto Village.

[ ]  Get Indian food at Shamong Diner. How have my kids never eaten at a Jersey diner?!

[ ]  Hang out on the nature trail and draw whatever we see.

[ ]  Go “swimming” in Rubbermaid bins. (Stealing this idea from my resourceful friend Jamie.)

[ ]  Go “treasure hunting” in a block of ice.

[ ]  Visit Independence Park and actually see the Declaration and the Bell!

[X]  Walk the High Line in NYC.

[ ]  Go to the Top of the Rock. I saw a Jimmy Fallon taping at Rockefeller last year thanks to an awesome childhood friend with an extra ticket, but I’ve never gone up to the roof!

photo by Flickr user prinsrichard via Creative Commons

 

[X]  Make smores in our fire pit. We’ve owned the pit for four years and haven’t made a single fire yet!

[X]  Pick your own berries. This is a freebie because we do it every year 🙂

[X]  Go camping. The boys went without me last year — I want in this time!

[ ]  Camp in our own backyard. I mean, we live in the woods, right?

[ ]  Go to the FunPlex water park.

[ ]  Go to the Smith Memorial Playground in Philly and slide down the big wooden slide.

[X]  Do “Boo at the Zoo” at the Philadelphia Zoo. The boys loved this last year.

[X]  Go back to “Day Out with Thomas” at Strasburg Railroad and Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Ronks.

Filed Under: random Tagged With: things to do at the jersey shore with kids, things to do in philly with kids, things to do in south jersey with kids

HUFFPOST: For the Love of Olaf, Can We Stop Dissecting Frozen?

March 2, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

There’s something I need to address about Frozen: I’d like everyone to please stop addressing things about Frozen. Seriously. I’m burnt out on Frozen stories. If I read one more article micro-analyzing this movie and digging up all its supposedly dirty secrets, I’m going to cryokinetically build a meat freezer and lock myself inside.

HuffPost-parenting-writer-frozen

 

There was the complaint that Elsa and Anna’s eyeballs were bigger than their wrists, thus creating an unrealistic dimorphism between genders. Because realism is obviously a huge concern in a movie with a talking snowman and a girl who can build an ice castle with a few sweeping hand gestures. 

Then there was the revelation that Frozen‘s “secret villains” are Elsa and Anna’s parents, which is kind of like saying Scar was the secret villain of The Lion King. They exiled their daughter for being different. Maybe they meant well, but I doubt anyone thought they were heroes.

Also, apparently Frozen is the most progressive Disney film ever. For starters, it doesn’t end with true love breaking a spell for the princess (spoiler alert ahead in case you’re really worried about spoilers even though the movie came out five months ago). It ends with the love of family breaking the spell, which is groundbreaking except the same thing also happened in Brave. Also, we get a fleeting glimpse at a two-dad family, which is cool. Granted, it’s so fleeting that there was a bit of a debate about whether that was actually the shopkeeper’s hubby and kids, or just a dude with a really tiny wife. Still, that split-second scene spawned even more blog posts about whether Frozen was pushing a “gay agenda.” No, really. (That same blogger complained that the movie is “anti-obedience”; if you’re worried about that, stick to Finding Nemo so your kids realize that the first time they defy you, they’ll probably be kidnapped by an Australian scuba diver.)

Then there was a round of discussion over whether a deleted scene, in which the sisters actually hung out during their formative years, would have changed the game of the movie. Yeah, it probably would have — I’m guessing that’s why it was deleted. In Cars, there was a deleted scene in which McQueen’s engine was transplanted, Body Snatchers-style, into a road paver. It was all kinds of creepy. Deleted scenes are usually deleted for a reason.

There was also the backlash over Elsa’s transformation during “Let It Go” — the knee-high slit in her skirt is too sexy and her hips are entirely too swishy. Never mind that the gloves she peels off were literally used to suppress her power — the scene was compared to Sandy’s bad-girl makeover in Grease. (One girl builds her own kingdom and the other takes up smoking, but sure, I guess it’s the same.)

Most recently, there was a post from a mom who believes “Let It Go,” the movie’s anthem of self-acceptance, actually serves as a “protest song” for kids who are fed up with the banishment aspect of time-out. Because a two-minute time-out is just like being exiled in your bedroom for a decade. 

My personal analysis? Frozen has double the princesses. It has a big anthem with small words for toddler-sized divas. Elsa’s superpower, in its best moments, is the visual equivalent of Spider-man shooting glitter, which is awesome. If you think Frozen is going to shape your kid’s development, don’t worry — you have way more pull than that. It’s just a movie. I watched The Little Mermaid a few zillion times as a tween, and I never had the urge to run away with a sailor or wear a shell bra. 

So if something about Frozen is bothering you, I think you know what I’m about to say: Please, for the sanity of moms everywhere who can’t handle another analysis of Frozen, let it go. Let. It. Go. LET IT $%^&ING GO.

If you want to know the secret, hidden, subliminal agenda of Frozen, look no further than Kristen Anderson and Bobby Lopez’s Oscar speech: “Never let fear and shame keep you from celebrating the unique people that you are.” Oh, and it’s totally possible to pull off a braid with formalwear.

This post was reprinted at Huffington Post.

Filed Under: random Tagged With: disney frozen, hidden messages in frozen

RECIPE: Apple Crisp with Pumpkin Butter

February 13, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

pumpkin-butter-apple-crisp-recipe-02

I’m coming out of retirement to share this amazing recipe.

Okay, maybe “retirement” isn’t the right word. I’ve just been really lazy about posting lately…like, for the whole summer, and then fall, and most of winter. But “retirement” sounds better, amirite, Jay-Z?

Jay-Z doesn’t read my blog. 

Anyway. My usual apple crisp recipe is a mashup of my mom’s easy-peasy recipe and Betty Crocker’s recipe. And every other apple crisp recipe, I guess, because there’s not much to apple crisp. But when I went into the cabinet for some brown sugar, I found a jar of pumpkin butter we bought at Pepper Palace a few months ago, and I thought, “Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.” Which is my default opinion on anything pumpkin-related. I played it safe a little and only replaced half the butter with pumpkin butter, but OMG. OMGAAAAAAHHHHH.

You’ll need:

  • 5-6 big apples (like, the end-of-season monsters)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 (heaping) tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin butter
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Peel and chop the apples.

2. Put the apples in a large ziploc bag with the flour, white sugar, and cinnamon. Shake it like a Polaroid picture.

3. Melt half a stick (1/4 cup) of butter in the microwave. Stir in the brown sugar, pumpkin butter, and vanilla.

4. Dump the ziploc mixture into a greased baking dish. Pour the buttery mixture over it.

5. Bake (covered) at 350 degree for around 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: recipes Tagged With: apple crisp, apple crisp recipe, fall recipes, pumpkin butter recipe, recipes using apples

4 Reasons I Actually Like Traveling with Kids

May 30, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

I’ve spent the past few days researching toddler-friendly vacation destinations, which means I’ve spent the past few days reading countless suggestions on message boards that perhaps we should just stay home. The  argument, in a nutshell, is that vacations aren’t as important as everyday togetherness for keeping your family unit strong. (Duh.) And since kids seem to like the mundane stuff best anyway — the playground, the hotel vending machine, the rental car — why bother going anywhere?

I’m sorry, but where’s the logic in that? That’s like saying, “Birthday cake isn’t as important to your health as eating a balanced diet the rest of the year. Don’t waste your time!” The thing is, even the mundane stuff is more fun when you’re away. I liked grocery shopping at the IGA in Montreal as much as I liked visiting the Notre-Dame. My kids loved “riding the red car” at Disney World — um, that would be our rental Prius.

travel-with-kids

I’m not saying we’re the most worldly family ever, but if the opportunity to go to Europe came up tomorrow, I’m not going to say no just because I might have to pass some time in the cultural wasteland of a Parisian playground, eating my weight in beignets while my kids go down the slide. That sounds amazing.

Vacationing with kids is different, but in some ways, I actually think it’s better. Here’s why:

1. Kids can pinpoint the true awesomeness of a city in three seconds flat. Whether it’s the playground, the street food, or a nice guy on the bus, kids have sonar for fun. They get the “authentic experiences” that travelers wax intellectual about because kids aren’t trying to impress anyone. (Where are the locals hanging out? Probably the playground.)

2. Kids give you a permission to be a tourist. It’s hard to blend when you’re lugging around a three-day zombie disaster supply kit in your diaper bag and your traveling companion has eschewed a “basic black” wardrobe in favor of wearing Angry Birds pajamas all day. But here’s a secret: Remember that time before you had kids? When you dressed like a local and memorized useful phrases like “Waar zijn de dichtstbijzijnde pannenkoeken?” You probably weren’t fooling anyone then, either.

3. Kids are the great equalizer. Nothing bonds you to your fellow travelers faster than being the other parent using a national monument as a time-out seat.

4. Kids see things like kids. When I was a kid, I thought the countries in EPCOT were the actual countries. My husband still gets nostalgic about his vacations at a rainy campground in New Jersey. I don’t think that Monte Carlo would blow my kids’ minds any more than the Hot Wheels aisle at Target already does. Yes, kids are easy to please — but is that really a problem? Is it so bad to go on vacation with someone who thinks that any hotel with an ice machine is a five-star resort and any restaurant with free crayons deserves a Michelin star? Or would you rather travel with someone who thinks the Louvre was too underwhelming, Disney too manufactured, or the Grand Canyon too dusty? (Yep, that was an actual complaint on Tripadvisor.) I’ll waste time traveling with my kids any day.

Filed Under: random Tagged With: family travel, traveling with kids, traveling with toddlers

RECIPE: 20-Minute Chili (And It's Healthy!)

February 8, 2013 by admin 1 Comment

Hi! Sorry for the lapse in blogging, but I just got back from a relaxing four-week sabbatical in Paris.

Okay, that’s a lie.

I’ve just been busy and fell behind on updates. And the longer I waited, the more interesting I felt I needed to be upon my return. But today I decided, screw being interesting! I’m just going to jump back in and post a recipe for chili!

I already have a recipe on here for slow-cooker chili, but tonight I got a hankerin’ for chili* at about 4:47 p.m. So, I had to figure out a way to speed up the process a little. This recipe is totally diet-friendly, by the way, which is important because I’ve spent the past week eating Slutty Brownies after almost every meal. It’s been a bad scene.

Anyway, this chili can be ready, start to finish, in 20 minutes.

chili

You’ll need:

  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 2 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp. paprika
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle blend
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 10-oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 8-oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
  • 2 cups beans (I used a mix of black and kidney)
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt and pepper (I used Papa Joe’s salt as usual)
  • 1 tsp. onion powder

In a big sauce pot, cook the ground turkey in some olive oil. Once it’s brown, add all the other stuff and simmer for 15 minutes. That’s it. C’est tout, c’est finit. Wasn’t that easy?

Okay. More updates, more often. I promise.

* Did you know this is the gerund form of the word hanker? I could also say, “I hanker for chili.” I think I’m going to start using that.

Filed Under: recipes Tagged With: chili recipe, easy chili recipe, fast chili recipe, last-minute chili recipe

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