Plugged in and catching up!

Wow. It's been a tough time for electronics in our home.
First one laptop started shutting down every 10 minutes.
Then the TV started turning off after 10 minutes (was it copying the laptop?)
Then the second laptop caught a nasty virus which put it out of commission.

Thank God, literally, for the 5 year old's iPod touch which ran like a champ and kept me on top of bills and emails!
Thankfully, the tv repairman took it as his personal challenge to get our tv working again.  Wires and sautered motherboards later, he prevailed!
And thanks to the people at Walmart who manage to make amazing deals, we got a great new laptop for a great low price.

I'm back online and feelin' fine :)  You should see the Christmas shopping and mp3 downloads that have been done this week.  Whew.

So catching up; here's a few Halloween pix to enjoy!

Digging for Gems

So I think they've wanted to do this for about five years now and I always tell them I don't have money for it.  Today they brought their own money.  They paid and got
 buckets and shovels. You can see their anticipation and excitement:

 Let the digging commence

 It got pretty dusty in there

 ooooo. pretty gems

 more digging

 identifying their 40 some-odd new treasures

 just another look to see if we missed any

 A grand success.  They were so happy with velveteen pouches full of stones and skin full of dust.

 After some relaxing at the park and a bit of picnic style dinner, we returned home to make apple crisp and get to bed. It was a very nice afternoon.

Teases and Meltdowns

It's been a big week.  While school sort of began last week, it's taken a more serious turn this week.  Madeline (3rd grade) brought home her first homework assignments and Cameron started kindergarten on Tuesday.  This marks a day in my life I have been looking forward to for, oh, perhaps six years?  Both kids in school mean I get a regularly scheduled break from the minute to minute responsibility of motherhood on a nearly daily basis. 
I have been day dreaming for six years what I might do with that time.   So it felt a little anti-climatic when I dropped Cameron off for his first day only to come home, exercise and drive the 10 miles back to pick him up.  I assured myself that there would be plenty of other days to do something more fun with my free time.  The next day I grocery shopped.  That afternoon, Cameron started a fever, headache and tummy ache.  He has not been back to school for the week.  I felt teased.
I sat down with Madeline to tackle the first homework assignment.  She slipped under the table to cry.  I wanted to join her, but launched instead into a presentation of 'why you must do your homework and what will happen if you don't'.  Eventually that lead to a threat of throwing out her toys and she got back in her seat and read her one minute to me.  Wow. 
To add to my mental frustration is the upstart of hunting season.  This is the five months of every year when I cannot count on my husband to be around on weekends. I don't hate that he goes; I think it's a sexy and respectable hobby.  It just takes a toll on me to have a lack of help and affection for those long months, especially during the holidays. 
No wonder I have a head ache.  At least I am still laughing at myself. 

I nodded.... thoughts on how I define myself.

I just nodded…

To be polite you know.

And maybe I wasn’t really taking the time to think about your statement and whether or not I truly agreed.

Maybe I thought I agreed, because it sounded smart or inspired even, but then on further reflection, it just didn’t assimilate well with what I already believe.

Maybe it just wasn’t the time nor place for further and more meaningful conversation.

These moments bring heightened awareness to what I believe and why.   Considering a contrasting opinion does that in a most valuable way.

Here is an example.  A friend told me that she doesn’t share (with a new person she meets) that she is married or has children.  She says this is because “her relationships do not define her”.  It sounded so confident and full of self assurance, independence and wholeness of individuality that I decided to try it on for size. 

It didn’t fit.

I am most accurately defined by my relationships.  I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a redeemed child of God.  In these relationships I learn about myself and am able to express my individuality.  By contrasting my feelings, thoughts and actions with the people I am in relationship with, I see more clearly how I am unique.  Embracing who I really am gives me freedom to be authentic, not seek to be something all together different.  Without my relationships, certainly I can define my personality and abilities, my passions and choices; but only in the context of relationships do those things have meaning.

This has made me perhaps more mindful of my relationships, more deliberate about them and certainly, more grateful for them.  They reveal me, shape me, reprimand me.  And without them, I’m not sure I could tell you just who I am.

Saturday Night Fever

Here it is; the summary of my past three days.
Tracking my 5 year old son's fever from 105.5 and back and still cruising at 99 on day four.
I wanted to be prepared with his stats should it turn serious enough to see a doctor.


He never felt sick.  If you asked him how he felt, he enthusiastically said "AWESOME!" and would show you with a fist how he was going to "knock out this germ". 
This morning I asked what he'd like to do and he said, "Well, watch a movie.  That's what we do when we're sick you know."  So we watched a movie.
I did speak with a nurse this morning who verified that we should just continue as we have been and do not need to come to the clinic.


I am extra thankful that the OTC medications and lukewarm baths managed the fever well.
I am thankful for the scanning thermometer that has made it so easy to track his temps, even while he is sleeping.  These things rock.
I am grateful for the wealth of information on the internet so that I was able to make educated decisions about our course of treatment for him.

It's times like this when I am reminded of how big a job motherhood is.  As my kids grow and don't need my constant attention and care; I am glad to be available without the stress of other commitments when they do need me.

Narcissistic?

Cultural Dictionary

narcissism  [( nahr -suh-siz-uhm)]

A consuming self-absorption or self-love; a type of egotism. Narcissists constantly assess their appearance, desires, feelings, and abilities.

I am such a poor blogger.  I recognize several reasons for this, the most potent being laziness and forgetfulness.  I figure that updating facebook is easier and does the job just fine.  Frequently I am surprised to remember that I even have a blog. (Oh, yes! THAT bookmark.  I should really update that soon).
But another looming reason I don't blog is that I worry it will come off as narcissistic.  After all, isn't the blog about me and my thoughts and experiences?  And who am I to think that anyone else wants to read about that?  So I just don't write. 


The silly thing is- I love reading the blogs of other people!  I love reading books about other people's thoughts, feelings, experiences, and dreams!  And furthermore, no one is having this blog pushed upon them like a playwright running around to directors and publishers trying to get noticed.  (Have you seen 'Don't Eat the Daisies"?- great show)

So note to self:
Blog for yourself.  Because you like to write.  You like to look back and see what adventures you wrote about.  You have thoughts and dreams and experiences that would benefit from being hammered out on the screen for further examination.  Be authentic and don't think about who might see it and what just such a viewer might want to see. It isn't for them; it's for you.

Thanks, self.  Thanks.

Challenge Ingredient Dinner May 15th, 2011

I picked up these ingredients while in New York at Chelsea Market last December. 
They were Spiced Fig Compote (dehydrated with spices), Thai Ginger Salt and Coconut White Balsamic Vinegar.

 

Chip created a lovely dinner. 
Shrimp splashed with the coconut vinegar over a salad of mixed greens, peas and peppers with a coconut-balsamic vinaigrette.  (Coconut Balsamic Vinegar, Olive oil, Salt and Pepper and Coarse Ground Mustard)
Grilled Chicken topped with Spiced Fig Compote and Feta Cheese

Green Beans and Pasta with olive oil, salt and pepper
Dinner was delicious, but the dessert knocked it out of the park on the creative aspect. 
Thai-ginger salt disolved in coconut-white balsamic, then stirred in to vanilla ice cream, served with Nilla wafers and a squeeze of fresh lime.  It was amazing!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Here's how we do thin mints at our house.  Get the Andes Mint Chips (by the chocolate chips at the grocery store and a sleeve of round butter crackers (reduced fat or regular work fine).

Melt the Andes Chips in the microwave working at medium power and stirring about every 30 seconds until smooth.

Then dip the crackers into the melted mint chocolate and lay on a sheet of wax paper to cool. 

  Fingers or tongs work equally well.  You can use the back of a spoon to patch up any bare spots after you put them on the wax paper.

When they are completely cooled, put them in a ziplock bag and seal for 1-3 days (if you can wait that long!).  The cracker will pick up all the mint flavor and taste just like a cookie!

Glitter Girls

The words Glitter Girls remind me of some seedy place in Vegas, but how else can I describe my 7 year old and her best friend this weekend?  They had scalps and faces full of glitter and you can imagine how the bathroom and bedroom looked.  It's a good thing I love glitter!

Candy Cane Chocolate Pie

Start with 4 candy canes in a ziplock bag:

Crush with mallet or other object: 

In small bowl, bloom (mix) 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup cold water. 

In 2 quart saucepan, mix 1/4 cup of crushed candy canes with 2 cups of whole milk, or other combination of dairy.  This is 1 cup half and half and 1 cup skim.  Stir till disolved, then stir in gelatin, 2 Tablespoons of white sugar and 1/4 tsp vanilla.  Cool this till it's room temperature, then pour into an oreo cookie crumb crust.

 

In a small glass bowl, melt 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in the microwave. (this should take about a minute, but stop and stir every 20 seconds till it's smooth) Gently stir into 8 ounces of light cool whip.  It makes a fabulous chocolate mousse.

Layer the chocolate mousse over the peppermint panne cotta layer (that's what you made with the milk and gelatin!) and cool in 'fridge about an hour.  I used a little of the melted chocolate to drizzle on top and the leftover crushed peppermint on top of that.

According to my calculations, this is right around 350 calories for an 1/8 piece of the pie.  Very reasonable for such a rich but refreshing dessert!

Diet Sabotage! Ginger Cookies

My poor husband.  He's trying to get in shape this year and has been doing so well.  And how do I help out?  By making his favorite soft ginger cookies.  I don't mean to be such a distraction, but my favorite things to create in the kitchen are cookies and candies, and I cleaned house all day long, so I had to unwind somehow.  See? I had no choice.
Sorry honey, I'll give them all away to the neighbors tomorrow.  I promise.


Soft Ginger Cookies

Cream well:
    3/4 cup butter flavor shortening
    1 cup sugar
Add and mix well:
    1/4 cup molasses
Mix with a fork in a small bowl first, then mix into butter/sugar mixture:
    1 egg and 2 Tablespoons water
Sift together, then add:
    2 cups flour (can be white, whole wheat or a combination)
    1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
    1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
    1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
    1/4 teaspoon salt

Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes-24 hours.  This allows the flour to completely hydrate so you have a soft and beautiful cookie.  Shape into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar (this is optional), and bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes ('til set).  Let cool on the cookie sheet 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack.  Makes 40 cookies.

My Favorite Breakfast- and it's HEALTHY!!

I have been eating this nearly every morning for a year now and still look forward to it each morning.  Over the past year I've lost about 15 pounds, and this healthy breakfast has been an energizing start to the day.  When I was really trying to cut calories, I used egg beaters or egg white instead of the whole egg, but being in a weight maintenance mode, I use the whole egg and appreciate the nutrients it supplies.

Heat a medium frying pan over med-high heat, spray with non-stick spray and put down the egg.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.



When the egg is firm enough, flip it over and toss a cup or two of fresh spinach in the pan.

Give it about a minute to start wilting, then add some salsa.  Any type will do, but a good fresh salsa is certainly best.

I choose either to eat this with a piece of high fiber toast with spray butter, or add beans to the pan.  Either way offers 6-7 grams of fiber. The beans have lots of antioxidants too.

When it's all heated through, plate up and eat... or add some sour cream, avocado, and cilantro. If you've left the yolk a little runny, it creates a rich sauce for the dish. 

Delicious!

ps-make sure to have some vitamin C with this- either in the form of an orange, grapefruit or a pill.  It will help your body absorb all those nutrients!