May 3 Affirming Life

I feel the need to affirm life today. This day is a sad one for me. I am feeling more this year than last. I am understanding more about myself this year than in the last two years. Two years ago today I lost my father to cancer. My father was my hero. In my mind he could do anything. He fought a courageous battle. I never heard him speak of how much time was left. It is no surprise that is how he chose to look at it. I'm not certain he ever admitted he even had cancer. I sat with him about two weeks before he died while my mother went to run errands. I was studying for finals. It was evident he was proud of my upcoming college graduation. He was interested to know what I was studying. It was Child Development one of the final classes I needed to complete my Psychology degree. We might have talked a bit about children and how they grow, I don't remember. What I do remember was he needed to eat. He was hungry but not understanding why. It was then that I knew the end was coming near. I wanted the clock to turn back. I wanted to have him teach my boys how to fix cars and build structures. While I was in class taking that very exam my mother called us all in. My brothers drove down from New York. I put everything on hold and stayed in the guest room to help Mom. We changed a plane ticket so my youngest son could say goodbye. It was bitter sweet. He had all his grandsons there before he passed. My mother told me they each spoke to him alone. They each told him he was their hero and they wanted to be like him. He was a great man. He loved his family and we knew it. We miss him. We each have our own way of grieving his loss and remembering his presence in our lives. I spoke with my oldest son about it today. He told me sometimes he just wishes he could call and talk to him. So do I.

I am choosing to affirm life today instead of letting this huge feeling of sadness pull me down. I am going to count all the ways I have abundance of life giving joy around me. Today is my younger son's fiance's birthday. She lovingly said as we were all filled with tears that early morning two years ago, "I am happy to share my day with Dave." She is a great asset to the family. Next summer she will be my son's wife. Next Friday my older son's fiance will graduate from college. She has worked hard to prove herself in life. I am proud of her accomplishments and excited to see what she does as she moves from this school to the next and earns her BA. I had a wonderful email message from a good friend this morning. Her granddaughter was born this morning!

I am grateful for life! This weekend was amazing! The sky was beautiful blue as only mountain skies can be. The grass deep green that can only be appreciated after it was covered in white for so many weeks this winter. Birds filled the backyard with activity. The cardinals were deeper red than ever before. Sparrows found bugs all through the freshly mowed lawn. Even the dog who usually wants no more than a half hour outside was enjoying the freshness of spring.I will end by sharing these photos of the flowers in my yard.







Please help me affirm life by telling someone about something wonderful. It doesn't matter who or what. Look at your surroundings, think about your family and friends, listen and you will find something wonderful about life to affirm. If you feel moved to do so please post this affirmation of life to share with people on line. You could respond to this blog post. You could use your Facebook status if you are a Facebook user. If you are one of my friends from Ravelry post something wonderful on one of the forums you frequent. Try to spread this affirmation of life in anyway you can. My father was full of life. I will continue to share that loving energy with all I come in contact with whether that be in person or online. I will continue to put forth all my loving energy into every contact I make!

Where is the knitting time???

This has been a week of fun filled studio time. Very little knitting time. Lots of exercise for me, for the clients, and for me and the clients. Yup, sometimes I worked out alone. Sometimes I worked out with my classes and other times just the clients worked out! I've gone home with just enough energy leftover for a quick meal and into bed. When could I squeeze knitting time in? I was getting it in while riding the stationary bike. If I were just doing that for exercise it would be great. Nope. Can't knit while doing push-ups. Can't knit while lunge walking around the room. Can't knit while doing lat pull-downs or shoulder presses. But I have a goal. Well, there are many goals. But one goal is to use 25 pound dumbbells for my bicep curls. That is much larger than my current 15 pounds. Those biceps will not get there knitting. They need to do the work using weights.

But if I had been knitting what would it be? Socks of course. I'm working with the most lovely merino blend yarn. The color is deep and rich. The pattern is challenging enough to keep me from falling asleep. (Now that you know about my workout habits this week you understand how important that is.) Actually the pattern is fabulously fun. It is one of Cookie A.'s patterns. I love her work. I have wanted to knit one of her socks for quite a while but have not had the courage to attempt it. This pair is for a friend. Somehow the great fear of knitting her socks is GONE now that I am making these socks for someone else. Note to self: remember to fool yourself into thinking you are making the hard stuff for someone else so you can have it!

So food for Friday?? Well, I have eaten oddly today. I had a turkey burger and raw carrots for breakfast. I had another turkey burger and carrots and hummus for my mid-morning snack. And yes, the hummus was on both the burger and the carrots. Why would I eat that way? Protein and veggies. Easy to carry and keep in the fridge. Easy to eat between clients. Let's dream about dinner. What could we have for dinner?

Millet and Pumpkin seeds

1 cup millet
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
21/2 cups water
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt

Bring water to a boil and add all other ingredients. Reduce to simmer and cook until all water is absorbed and the millet is soft. Add more water if necessary. Note: Some people like to toast the millet a bit before cooking. This can be done a number of ways. One easy clean up way is to heat your sauce pan and then add the millet to it. Keep the millet moving over the heat. You will hear little pops like popcorn. This is the millet hulls cracking and the millet toasting. Be careful not to let it burn. Once the millet is toasted you can then add all the ingredients to the pot and simmer.

Roasted Veggies
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
3 carrots
1 small onion
5-8 small garlic cloves
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp rosemary leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
cracked pepper to taste

Wash and slice zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots into off center rounds (like ovals almost and there will be some odd shaped ones in there from the beginning and ends of the veggies) about 1/4 inch thick then put into a mixing bowl. Slice onion into 1/4 inch rounds and separate OR cut into eighths and separate and add to the mixing bowl. Peel the garlic cloves and add to the other veggies. If desired the garlic can be cut in half or quarters. Crush the herbs together and mix through the veggies. Drizzle the veggies with the olive oil and stir through to coat the veggies. Arrange the veggies on a broiler pan and broil turning so they don't burn until cooked to desired doneness.

I'm noticing the spell checker does not really like the word "doneness". I like "doneness". It makes perfect sense to me. I am going to continue to rebel and use the word.

Have an enjoyable weekend!

Foggy Thursday

I have to admit I am in a bit of a mind fog today. I'm sure it is due to the Chinese food I ate yesterday. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my current coffee habit and that I had tea with breakfast. Nor could it have anything to do with today rapidly becoming the fourth 10 hour workday of this week. And moreover I'm certain the mind fog has nothing to do with my new exercise routine. Really it has to be the weather report...fog then misty rain then real rain. Yup, let's just blame it all on the weather. Even the dog is feeling the need to curl up and take a nap, on my lap right now to be precise!

What is on the stove today?? I'm thinking bone soup would be GREAT today. The foggy chilly weather is reaching into my bones and a wonderful soup would help. And what is Bone Soup? It is a broth made from leftover bones from other meals. I only eat poultry, so for my soup it will be chicken or turkey bones. I save the bones from roast chicken throughout the month. I keep them in the freezer until I am ready to make the soup. On soup day I pull them out an put them all in a large stockpot.

Bone Soup Broth

leftover chicken bones
1 bunch parsley
3 stalks celery
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2 bay leaves
2 tsp oregano

Wash and rough cut all the veggies. (What is rough cut? Chunky but not whole.) Put all the ingredients in a large stockpot and cover with water. Bring this to a boil and then simmer for 10-12 hours. Why so long? This process pulls the "good stuff" out of the bones. This "good stuff" will help your body build healthy bones and joints. You can do the same process in your slow cooker. Set it up at night and cook while you sleep if you want to. I usually make this stock on a Saturday or Sunday and then it is ready for the week. I am making a large quantity to save time later in the week. Once the bones are soft the broth is ready. Strain the liquid off and store for later use. I usually freeze what I don't intend to use up in the next few days.

How do you use the Bone Soup Broth? As a base for other soups. Try starting with 4 cups of broth and add veggies of your choosing. For example:

1/2 cup chopped celery
1 diced onion
1 cup cut green beans
1/2 cup corn
1 cup cut carrots
1 peeled and diced sweet potato
1 can pinto beans rinsed
1 TBS olive oil
4 cups Bone Soup Broth
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
Pepper to taste

Saute the onion and celery in the olive oil until clear. Add all the veggies, herbs, and the 4 cups of broth. Simmer until the veggies are cooked through. By adding the pinto beans you have enough protein without the need to add meat.

Enjoy!

No Nap Wednesday

So I could really really use a nap today. Instead I agreed to take all of Kam's clients for Friday morning. This may or may not have been a good choice. Her classes start at 7:30 in the morning. I am not best before 9 really to be honest I am happiest starting the day around 10. Oh well, it is all in the name of networking and business building. She will be going out to this Mega Networking event. As I understand it the event is speed dating for businesses. I think I'm getting the better end of this deal!

Workouts are going well for me these days. That could be one of the causes for the great nap craving this afternoon. Yesterday was legs and back. Today's scheduled workout was back and chest. My back is sore. I think I will do core with my groups tonight and call that my workout. Is that fair? Not really. Does it count for a workout? Yes, if I do the workout with two of my classes. Why two? I use very light weights when training with a group and need more exercise to count for a "real" workout.

What is on the table?? How about some veggie hash? Or some lovely walnut sauteed kale?

Veggie Hash (for one)
1 clove garlic, well chopped
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, sliced
1/8 cup parsley, chopped
3 basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 TBS olive oil

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add remaining veggies and steam saute until veggies are "desired doneness", still crunchy in April's world. Now add the herbs and cook another 30 seconds until they wilt.

Walnut Sauteed Kale (For two hungry people or a few nibblers)
5 cups kale, washed and cut into small pieces
2 TBS olive or walnut oil
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped in large pieces
Sea salt to taste

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the kale and walnuts. Stir frequently while it cooks down. Don't cover it or it will steam and become liquidy. This dish is ready in 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

March Math

So there are 5 recipes and today is March 9. I'm down 4. Not good. Looks like there will be a few posts today or a rather long one that accumulates through the day.

What did you have for breakfast? Was it enough? Did it hold you through to your mid-morning snack? Did you know your body needs protein first thing in the morning? When you wake your body has been fasting for 8-12 hours. It is hungry!! Cereal is not enough. For many people cereal is a sugar hit and then an energy drop in about an hour. Cereal is a processed food. Even "healthy organic" cereals are processed. In the processing sugar, fat, and salt are added to enhance flavors and make the flours stick together. Your body will use the sugar very quickly. You will feel energized for a short period of time and then you will feel like you need a nap. So what are you going to do when you really want a cereal option?

Hot Quinoa Breakfast Cereal
1 cup cooked quinoa
7 walnut halves
1/3 cup frozen blueberries

Mix all ingredients together and eat as is or add almond milk or soy milk to taste. This packs in 340 calories, 11 grams of protein, and only 5 grams of sugar!

And how is it you cook quinoa?? Just like rice 2 parts water to one part grain and cook for 20-25 minutes. If you make too much (or you could make extra for later) try this...

Quinoa and veggie saute

1 cup cooked quinoa
2 cups chopped veggies of choice
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic chopped fine
1 tbs olive oil

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. When onion is clear add chopped veggies and cook until they are desired "doneness". (I like mine a bit crunchy.) Add the cooked quinoa and heat through. This is lunch for one. You can add 3 oz cooked chicken or tofu if desired. Realize that Quinoa is 222 calories per cup and 8 grams of protein. Adding chicken or tofu will increase the calorie count and the protein count. If your goal is to reach a 400 calorie meal you should add the extra protein.

Math people will notice this brings the recipe count up to 7. I will have to stop here. I managed to get in lots more workout time today than I normally pack in. Because of that I'm needing to head home and cook some food. I'll be sure to keep track of what I make and share tomorrow! Great evening to all!

Enjoy!

Post Olympic Blues

Thursday came and went. I felt melancholy through the afternoon. I couldn't figure it out. How could a day when I had acupuncture and a 90 minute massage result in melancholy feelings? I went to Ravelry to waste a bit of time before teaching a class and hoping to perk myself up with a funny quip or two from my online friends. What I found was so enlightening and uplifting it changed my mood for the rest of the evening and even carried over into today. One of my fiber friends (that is fiber as in yarn and wool to be spun into yarn) posted on a discussion thread that my Olympic shawl was her favorite project of the Ravelympics. I was stunned and proud. As I read further there was a post echoing her praise of my work. The enlightening moment was realizing I am experiencing Post Olympic Blues. The project was a long one. I cut it close and almost was unable to complete when I ran out of the yarn I spun last summer during the Tour de Fleece. I frantically went downtown to see if I could match the hand dyed merino wool. Lucky for me I did. I spent a week of the allotted 17 days spinning another 114 yards of yarn to complete the shawl I started. And how was this uplifting? I must need to start another project! I have a pair of special socks going now but can't post any pictures because I don't want to spoil any surprises. I'm also starting a baby sweater this weekend. The daughter of a friend is expecting a baby girl and I'm excited to start knitting this sweater for her.

Here is a shot of the Olympic Shawl:


Today's Recipe Offering:
Breakfast Chicken Salad (Serves One)
3 oz. diced cooked chicken
1 small apple cut into small pieces
1 stalk celery diced
10 walnut halves chopped
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp honey

Combine all ingredients except honey in a bowl. Drizzle honey over the top or mix it through. This can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator for a quick breakfast.

"Pesto" green beans
1 pound whole green beans (fresh or frozen)
2 tsp chopped basil
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 TBS olive oil

Saute all in a skillet until the beans are tender but still crisp. Add sea salt to taste. This is a quick side dish and one of my staples.

Enjoy!

Wednesday!!

(Yes, I know it is not Wednesday! Due to computer difficulties at home this post had to wait until today to go live!)

Wintery Wednesday in Western North Carolina!!! I walked to work today through the snow. Interesting how icy roads mean leaving the car home and trekking in to work the old fashioned way while sunny skies mean driving in so many errands can be run. I was so bundled up to fight the bitter wind there was little pleasure in the walk itself. I did stop to take notice of the hill in front of the studio. This was a smart self-defensive move on my part. The hill is covered with 6-7 inches of snow. The ground underneath is uneven and can be hard to navigate. The surface was blowing and drifting. There were little points along the surface that were higher than others and dry powdery snow blew at high speed over and around these miniature points of architecture. The whole scene reminded me of walking the beach in Hatteras. The heavy winds blow the sand on the beach creating a similar drifting. There are high peaks almost like cliffs were the wet sand holds itself still and the dry sand whips on by.

On a chilly day like this I crave soup. What I have to offer today is Broccoli soup. The ingredients are simple as is the preparation and the outcome savory, warm, and satisfying.

Ingredients:
4 cups broccoli, chopped
1/2 a sweet onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 TBS parsley
1 TBS olive oil

Saute the onion and celery in olive oil until the onions are clear. Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan add filtered water to cover. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is soft. The soup can be eaten as is or can be blended to a creamy consistency using a hand held blender.