'puttin' up

so, it's getting colder here, and that means my thoughts come back to indoors and snuggling inside for the long winter.

usually, that means i think about eating.

i might possibly blame some of this action on my 'kitchen mates' anne and loretta, whom i spend much of the day on wednesday of each week with, as we cook for the church's evening mid-week meal.

in any case, i am on a roll. i have already made several kinds of soup, and a butternut squash lasagna a couple of weeks ago.

 i also chopped up some hot peppers from the garden last weekend for the freezer. my hands actually burned for TWO days. i am going to make a batch of salsa with the last of the tomatoes THIS weekend. i promise not to touch these bad boys again, though!

yesterday, i roasted a chicken using this recipe....it was so delish! in fact, i forgot to photograph it when i took it out of the oven, it smelled THAT good ;) the pan drippings were amazing....and i have lots of leftover chicken to chop and use for other things.

i also made 3 quarts of chicken stock for the freezer after I cleaned the meat from the bones. yeah, i went completely laura ingalls wilder on that chicken!

ha.

and lastly, i made a new kind of spicy granola this week...from a new hero of mine...curtis stone. he was here in SF a few weeks ago, and even though i did not go see him, i kind of wish i would have...! curtis rules!

 i know you think i like him because he's cute, but actually, i'm not really into him THAT way.

i guess because he kind of reminds me of HIM. i'm not really a fan of him, although i wish i could make my hair do that :)

but i do like his personality. and i do like his facebook page. and his blog. and apparently, i also like his recipes ;) so here's to a winter of eating real food, instead of 'fast' food and 'junk' food :)


happy cooking!

if you want your good cry for the day (or maybe that is just me) - watch this video of a baby elephant being freed from a well and reunited with its mother.

i started at the 4 minute mark, because I did not love seeing the struggle too much.

but the crying came between minutes 4 and 5 :)

 is it just me, or do the new nail polishes and designs that you are seeing all over just get you excited?! it's like designing a brochure on your hand :)

ha. well, not exactly. but i have gotten bitten by the bug a LITTLE bit. i have not gone out and spent a ton on new nail polish, but dragged some very old stuff out of the bathroom cabinet.

carey says all the 7-year-olds in mitchell are doing the very same thing :)

ps. there is really nothing more gross than a fingernail close-up! do not zoom!

now i've seen it all.

sigh. this weekend was fabulicious.i'm pretty sure that is a word.

saturday was nearly 70 degrees, so i got to run around outside again, and clean up dead stuff, organize the shed, and just generally be in the sunshine and nature.

little did i know, i took part in a growing 'movement' that oprah has invented. or something like that. it's called 'earthing.'

google it. i did, because my friend kirsten brought it up on her blog last week. according to the 'earthing' website...here's a definition:

Just as the sun gives us warmth and vitamin D, the Earth underfoot gives us food and water, a surface to walk, sit, stand, play, and build on, and something you never, ever thought about—an eternal, natural, and gentle energy.  Think of it perhaps as vitamin G—G for ground. What does that mean to you?  Maybe the difference between feeling good and not so good, of having little or a lot of energy, or sleeping well or not so well.

I love how this 'movement' acts like they are coming up with something new - vitamin G for ground! i'm seriously dumbfounded that people jump into this kind of stuff. the best part is that there are ALL SORTS of products you can purchase, esp. blankets and sheets, etc. which are supposed to emulate sleeping on the ground. um, sure.

most of the stuff also PLUGS IN. 

 

 

 WHAT?

 

notice the lovely packaging. this is the point where i become kind of embarrassed for being in marketing. c'mon people, really???! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY BUYING THIS STUFF?

 

 

 

oh man. i wonder what God thinks of us down here. esp. in America, where we have lots and lots of money to invent our new 'religion' every time we turn around. instead of turning to the one true God who actually knows what's what.

 

seriously. if oprah were here right now (or dr. oz, who endorses this s**t) - i would kick her in the shin. for shame.

 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”

So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.

God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.

 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.  

And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

I should market this stuff up here above, it seems like it makes alot of sense, no?

I think I'll call it Genesis I.

:) happy monday!

 

 

 

 

'want'

i've been meaning to post about this for a few days now. i read awhile ago that facebook is testing a 'want' button with a couple of big retailers.

my biz partner and i have recently decided to jump on the social media bandwagon, and start doing some facebook marketing for our clients. it doesn't look like the 'want' of our consumer society is going away anytime soon.

and no wonder. there are LOTS and lots of things to want when you spend any amount of time on the internet. for me, it's pretty much ALL DAY LONG, so my want list can grow pretty large.

lou told me about some apps that you can get on your phone that let you track your impulses to buy things. i downloaded one, but so far, i've just kept a mental list of the things that have popped into my head to 'want':

I look at these every fall. sometimes multiple times per week. badly 'want'.

i tried to buy a $3.99 thrift store watch, because the battery is dead in all but one of my watches. it hurts my wrist to wear. so i 'want' this one.

a friend is moving next week. looking around for artwork for HER makes me 'want'.

another long-standing 'want.' which would make me 'want' everything new for my whole living room. the chain 'want'.

i debate about this one. i've decided that food purchases are off limits for now - but what about the birds? is caring for them a 'want'?

you see where this is going.

i'm no longer a serial shopper when it comes to driving to stores and gazing around at stuff. however, the internet creates an even STRONGER desire to 'want' more stuff, because the stuff is especially pretty and easy to purchase.

i've given myself October to at least try to tame the 'wants'. some of it is keeping track of them and realizing how foolish it is to want THINGS more than things. you know?


the other aspect of this is to fill that space where 'wanting' lives with the REAL things God wants me to want. by just opening your heart, you can begin to turn on the internet feed to the REAL things that you want, did you know that?

in my devo this morning, God said this to me:


"though i have brought many pleasures into your life, not one of them is essential. receive my blessings with open hands. enjoy my good gifts, but do not cling to them. turn your attention to the GIVER of all good things, and rest in the knowledge that you are complete in Me. the one thing you absolutely need is the one THING you can never lose: my Presence with you."

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

one year ago

This is the photo i have from one year ago. must have been a pretty day. trying not to miss my old house.

bad blogger

i'm in a blogging funk, i think.

on one hand, i think of things i want to tell you.

on the other hand, i feel like i've told you them before.

perhaps, i am coming to the end of blogging. i hope not, because it would make me sad, i think.




well, before we do anything drastic, let's try a random post. those are easy.

 i suppose i am a bit sad. after a very disappointing year of gardening, i had to pull the tomatoes last week. i will miss em. the remaining tray of partially ripe fruit is out in the sun porch. looks like i will get one more batch of canning done. yay.

 all i want to do lately is bake. i have never been much of a cook, but baking, i love. i made caramel rolls over the weekend, and gave them away. it was fun, but i wish i could have eaten just one ;)

 oh, the plants came in from outside too. there are still bunches of them in the 3-season porch. my whole house is green again. no room for this kind of thing, but sigh. i have no other choice. i cannot kill them just. quite. yet.

i've been enjoying the new glasses and new haircut. i feel like maybe i am trying a little bit. it's so hard to be motivated when you work from home. but it's good. i feel good.




okay. so that was not so bad. hopefully, my brain will think of some good posts this week, and i will get back on the wagon. i hope you are still there ;)

dog days of, um, october

I actually came armed with a camera, thinking I would take cute pics because Carey cannot take a good photo to save her life.

I quickly found out that chubby, lounging cats are much easier to shoot than tiny, wriggley puppies.

seriously. he did not stop for a SECOND, even when we tried to divert his attention with toys.

as you can tell, he already has quite a few toys.

trust me. he was fast.

 and much more into people-climbing than playing with toys.

 we tried to hold him down and capture his cuteness. but carey needed to make sure that in all instances, his 'man parts' were covered.

sigh. we gave up.

later, we just went outside. we got him to sit still for a second while he checked out sydney.

 i love my syd, and i think she loves me, but HIM - not so much.

crosby, on the other hand, is not one to avoid new friends, even small annoying ones. but she would much rather play ball.

oh good grief. c'mon everyone, just say 'hello' to gunner. he's small, he has attitude, and he just hit the jackpot by getting to live with the most pet-friendly people i know. lucky dog!

making over me.

so, in the last 2 days i have been working on a little fall makeover. funny how all of a sudden it strikes you that you are SO 2007! ha.


i already posted the pic on facebook, but i think the fun thing about this is the stuff i chose to do. so here goes:

• got a haircut. the lady at the mall ($15 haircut, btw) told me i have very thin hair and lots of cowlicks. i actually never knew i have 'cowlick syndrome' - it explains alot.

she sold me some hair meringue. seriously. i still have cowlicks, but i smell like lemon pie ;)

• bought 3 new shirts. so much for a complete wardrobe change! i find that 3 new shirts gets me more than HALF a new week. plenty to keep me looking fashionable, i think.

unfortunately, all 3 shirts are rocking the horizontal stripe. something tells me this might be a problem....

• new makeup. consisting of 'age defying' concealing magical power foundation. i was about outta that. and an eye pencil that is soft enough to not move my whole face when i'm applying it. and some glitter nail polish. guess which one is my favorite?!

• new specs. for the first time in about 18 months, i can actually SEE. that is kind of a benefit. the secret here is to buy giant grandpa frames (which are 'in' again, thank the Lord) which help to make the bifocals more IN focus.

unfortunately, by the end of yesterday, i had a giant headache from the new frames. oh, and a little 'thingey' that was adorning the side of the frame already fell off. so glad i got the 'designer' model.

however, i actually feel cuter. i think it's just the ACT of pretending to care that helps. surely it makes me more ready to face the world, which i am planning to step out into more often. so much of how we look is our MENTAL state, actually having nothing to do with what it appears to be on the outside.

i am pretty happy with my mental makeover, except i think i need some boots for when the flip flops absolutely must be put away.... but then, look out world, she is OUT!

:) happy day, all.

tomato basil soup

so, 'tis the season. soup season. i wait in anticipation each year for soup season....and now that the house is chilly feelin' - it's the perfect time to start cooking.

on saturday, i made the most deliciously amazing roasted tomato sauce...it was only after i finished up, that i realized it is actually SOUP. it's very close to the yummy tomato basil soup at kaladis bistro here in SF.

my recipe does not include quantities, but i think there is some flex in those. here goes!

 start out by washing and cutting a big bowlful of ripe tomatoes into a 9x13 pan. Add some diced garlic and onion, and a dash of sea salt. Pour a liberal (1/4 cup?) amount of olive oil over all. the best part about this is that the 'skins' can be left on the tomatoes, because in the end, you will not know they are there.

Into the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

 they come out smelling and looking fab. i like to add in a handful of fresh basil at this point, rather than cooking the basil all along, because i don't want it to burn.

 see how the basil gets kind of wilty immediately? this is good.

 then, into the blender all together.

 mmmmmmmmmmm.

at this point, you have a wonderful tomato sauce for recipes, OR a wonderful soup to just enjoy. you CAN add a bit of whipping cream or half and half if you like, but if you love tomatoes, this is probably going to please you 'as is.'


talk about comfort. i could almost eat that picture :)

i also made my first ever 'flourless' chocolate cake. it was pretty good, as well. the recipe can be found here.

yum. weekends taste good.

hip to be square

ah, what a wonderful quiet day. by thursday pm, i have almost put myself into the 'weekend' frame of mind. weekends are what i love most about my life, it seems.

i was glimpsing at the year-long stack of 'stuff' in my garage the other day. a tiny square priority mail box peeked out of the jumble.

i opened it, and suddenly REMEMBERED. this precious box has seriously been LOST for almost THREE years! i lost it! who loses a box like this?!

well. people like me, whose eyes are bigger than their brains. i was SO into sewing, and then, just like that, it was over.

she forgives me, mostly because she loves sniffing stuff that has been out in the garage for 3 years.

anyway, it's back. the desire and the time to make a quilt. the urge to gather my lovelies and turn them into a something. even. better. something for my grandma room that i am dreaming up in the basement. sigh. it's gonna be good.