Friday, July 31, 2009

Family Fun Monday

Ok so it's Friday but I totally forgot to post what we did on Monday. It was fun.

I made this dip (minus the onions) and served it up with some carrots and yellow pepper strips. I swear to you that my little one would have licked the bowl clean if he could have. The boy loves some dill (just like his mama). On another platter I had cut up bananas, grapes, and plums. The last platter had sliced cibatta bread which I served with brie, fresh mozzarella with basil, and fresh mozzarella wrapped in proscuitto. Monkeyface didn't care for the cheeses but he ate almost all the plums, grapes, and carrots.
I spread this out on the floor and we had us an indoor picnic. It was awesome and Monkeyface always likes when we eat on the floor.

Also crossposting this to Gayle's site.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Happiness

I just remembered how completely happy this song makes me. It takes me back to drumming for the Afro-Caribbean dance troupe and watching the girls get down to this song. I think it's time for a dance around the living room with Monkeyface. Man that was a good time. Drumming and letting it all go. Then I had to go and get married and want to devote my time to marriage instead of drumming. I don't regeret my decision b/c the troupe fell apart soon after that. We were practicing twice a week and then performing almost every weekend. It was hard to commit to that as a newlywed. I think fondly of these strong, magnetic, empowered women and girls. I could never dance like they could but I could provide a funky beat. I miss the sweethearts that were my drumming buddies. I miss impromptu drumming in the rose garden on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I miss watching people lose themselves in music especially when it's my music.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Living Juicy

I just found this website and found it enthralling. I read a lot of blogs and a few of them talk about living juicy or surrounding themselves with juicy women and today I finally thought to look up what they mean by "juicy".

I find the whole concept very interesting. Sort of a "Carpe Diem!" attitude which I can totally appreciate. I think I've lost that part of me and have been finding things too "inconvenient" lately. What I mean by this is that I almost lost a fantastic day at the beach with my hubby and son b/c I didn't want to get everything together to go. That was my excuse until something inside of me snapped and I thought about what I was saying. My hubby never wants to go to the beach or even do things spontaneously. Why would I deny myself a memorable day? I am thrilled that I snapped out of that. Now to work that into my daily life...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Arrgh all the colors!

I'm blinded by the rainbow that is Sarah Palin's resignation speech.
I hate when people use punctuation incorrectly and don't get me started on bad grammar. I missed my calling as an editor.

Presence

I have a ton on my mind lately so I'm going to do what I used to do and that is journal what I need to journal. Private things will go in my handwritten journal which I haven't pulled out in years. Who writes anything anymore anyway? Anyone?

First matter I have issue with is my lack of presence. Practicing presence means that I deliberately focus my awareness on the here and now. "Being fully present is being at peace with What Is. Presence is powerful and people can feel it. They are attracted to it."*
I have a friend that I call when I need a boost and even sometimes when he needs a boost b/c he always lifts me up. Everytime I speak with him, he makes me feel like I am the center of his universe at that moment. I understand that when he leaves, the next person he talks to will feel the same way, but for those moments, I relish in his presence.
I am trying to actually listen when people speak to me. By this I mean that I am trying to be present for what they are saying instead of hurriedly formulating my next sentence to them based on something they said. I have a tendency to pick up key points of a conversation instead of listening to everything. It's like I want someone to hurry up with what they have to say so that I can say what I need to say before I forget it.
I often laugh and joke that I have a monkey mind b/c it runs and jumps and swings 60 ways a minute. Listening is a hard job and being present is even harder but it is a first step.

*Daily Groove

Monday, July 20, 2009

Randomness

I am the queen of random. I now tip my crown to this guy.

**Thank you Karlaanne for making my day a little brighter

My new motto

and my new favorite t-shirt

Week Four

Really? Week Four already?

Weight Loss
I lost .2 lbs this week.
exercise
Still having a problem with the moving thing. Why oh why do I fight it? How do I convince myself to roll out of the bed early in the morning?
Food
Hormones were all out of sorts this week so I ate way more sugar than I should have. That will be remidied. I was able to introduce plums and nectarines to the little one this week (thanks Grandma!)
Emotions
I am adding this new section b/c I think it's important. When I started this process again for the 1,000,000th time I promised myself that I would not get frustrated at how slowly I lost and I would track everything for at least one year. I can't believe I am not frustrated yet but I also realize that I am not giving this as much effort as I could.

Goals for Week 4:
**exercise 3 times this week for 30 minutes each time or a total of 90 minutes
**Try out Jillian Michael's 30 day shred (for real really this time-it is in the DVD player waiting for me)
**Lose 3 lbs this week
**Take a walk around the neighborhood again
**water, water, water

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Life lesson

We were just watching Little Bill and he was threatening to run away b/c he didn't want to take a nap. I asked Monkeyface if he'd ever run away and he said..."No, I'd walk."

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients
3/4 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 5 ears)*
1 large tomato, seeded & finely chopped (to taste)
1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped (to taste)
½ cucumber (to taste)
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Add corn and remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
*I cooked my corn in water, some milk, and a little sugar to bring out the sweetness*
**I think this would also be good with some black beans, avocados, or even red peppers**

Don't forget to swing by and visit Gayle this week.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Week Three

Weight Loss
I lost 2 lbs this week.
exercise
I really need to get moving. I don't like to exercise and it is proving to be more difficult than I thought. I'm going to lower my expectations so that I can accomplish my goals this week just this once.
Food
I ate all the veggies from the farmer's market and even developed my own new Corn salad recipe. I only dined out for one lunch and one dinner so that was great. Doing a really good job keeping my food on track.

Goals for Week 3:
**exercise 3 times this week for 30 minutes each time or a total of 90 minutes
**Try out Jillian Michael's 30 day shred (for real this time)
**Lose 3 lbs this week
**Take a walk around the neighborhood
**Enjoy some fresh veggies and empty the freezer of frozen veggies so that I can freeze some more.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Fun times this weekend

It's gonna be a nice weekend so I'm making a list of things to do again so that we don't stay inside.

Rocket ship art
Homemade sidewalk chalk paint
Park
Farmer’s market
Breakfast outside
Pancakes & Sausage
visit with Granny & Papa
afternoon at Grandma’s
paint

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Week Two

Weight Loss
I lost .2 lbs this week.
exercise
The only exercise I got this week was a slow saunter down the beach while I looked for a place to throw my stuff down.
Food
A little out of control this week. I was very conscious of what I was eating and I made good choices, but I did not keep track of it. This was my downfall here. I ate Broccoli slaw which is always delicious. I've been making this for years and never thought to add bacon bits or cranberries. It was completely awesome. We visited the farmer's market yesterday and purchased tomatoes, corn, squash, green beans, blackberries, and watermelon. I'm excited to dive in this week. I already made a blackberry cobbler which will be savored a little at a time.

Goals for Week 3:
**exercise 4 times this week for 30 minutes each time or a total of 120 minutes
**Try out Jillian Michael's 30 day shred
**Lose 3 lbs this week
**Take a walk in a new location
**Eat all the veggies I brought home from the farmer's market