the long haul ~ edition XX

when you've gone and said what you thought was the right thing (or at least the ok thing) but it turned out not to be ok.

then what?

when your intentions were good and honorable, but you still end up inadvertently hurting someone

then what?

when think you are being supportive and you end up alienating someone

then what?

when you care so much about a person and feel like you really do know how they feel, because you've been 'there' but it turns out they don't agree

then what?

when you just need to keep your opinions to yourself, but for some unknown reason you just can't

then what?

when you haven't walked a mile in someone else's shoes even though you think you have

then what?

when you were judgmental even though you didn't mean to be

then what?

Then you remember to be supportive and listen and hold hands and buy the drinks and apologize and mean it and promise to be a better friend and hope this all makes some sort of amends.

Then you hope and pray that someone will be as kind to you during times of need.

Confessions of an addict

Are you susceptible to advertising? I am a bit ashamed to admit that some forms of advertising (i.e. infomercials ....ahem.....) have strange control over me. Sad but true. Why? Well, all the pretty people with the sincere words and they are intense and they keep telling you the same information over and over imprinting it onto your brain until its there whether you like it or not and good heavens, it all looks so amazing and too good to be true, but hello, "success stories", it all must be true if that many people have tried the product with such amazing success. Why would they lie? If someone else can reap a benefit from a product, well so can I. For years, I've put myself on a no-infomercial diet. Can you see why!!??!! I can't be trusted watching them. If I am cruising the channels and an informercial is playing, well, I just have to press onward. No matter how wonderful and useful and easy that Magic Bullet might sound.

Oy!

Over the years, I've purchased (put on your seatbelts and WARNING: not for the faint of heart) and this is just the ones I remember off the top of my head:

AbRoller (it probably would have worked, but, I find that having it sitting in the living room collecting dust not being used daily is much easier than actually working on tight abs);

Buns and Thighs of Steel (I used these tapes quite a lot, and yes, they do work your buns and thighs. Its a matter of becoming really bored doing this over and over in your living room, sad but true. When you have the dialogue memorized, you need to get out more.);

Juiceman Juicer (This was a great product. The juice tasted great. It came with a recipe book containing all sorts of concoctions for all sorts of ailments and issues. The problem was you went to the grocery store and bought a bag (or three) full of fresh and lovely produce. You get home to make the amazing healthful fountain of youth juice and it takes you 18 minutes to clean and chop the veggies and/or fruits just to get them in the juicer and about $25 worth of produce later you have one 8 oz glass of really amazing juice. Now, I may be exaggerating a smidge, but the cost of making a small amount of really tasty and healthy juice was out of control and way too time consuming for an A.D.D. and on a budget person such as myself.)

Leslie Sansome's Walk Away the Pounds. This was a fun video to work out to. It took me a long, long time to get bored with this. The video came with two hand weights to use to maximize your workout experience. Unfortunately they were the exact size and shape and texture (I imagine anyway) of triple G breast implants. I always felt I had to hide them on the floor in the back of the linen closet when anyone came over (what is up with that?). Anyway, I never really walked away any pounds though and I think I started to see a wear pattern in the carpet in front of the television, so I stopped using it.

Mari Winsor's Pilates workout video(s). I love pilates and have had in the past, personal trainers. I was doing pilates before anyone really knew what pilates was. I love pilates. The problem is, I like having a personal trainer and that's not in the budget. So, the DVD seemed the most logical answer. Not so much. It didn't work for me, I was never motivated to keep up with it. I know its a personal issue, but, the people on the video, sort of, bugged me. I know, I know......... moving on.

I know there's more, but I can't remember the specifics. That's how well they worked for me! You'd think I'd catch a clue. I've purchased electric toothbrushes and mineral makeups and miracle face products hocked by tv celebs and as you can see from above, quite a few exercise tapes and miscellaneous exercise equipment. I can't even remember all the crap. Its embarassing to admit and I only do so as a form of catharsis and to remind myself infomercial purchases are bad, bad!! I had to quit infomercials cold turkey.

Every now and again though, I find myself surfing the channels and there will be some attractive person with a winning smile and a plethora of success stories supporting their claims and my phone dialing finger gets itchy.

Asian Cabbage Salad

I know, I know, you were on the edge of your seats waiting for the cabbage salad recipe. I'm sure you've had this and or probably have made it yourself. There are just about eleventy billion versions of it. Its just such a great recipe and so versatile. Once summer gets here and cabbage is fresh and lovely, I make this salad often, changing it up to fit with whatever I have in the fridge. Be creative and enjoy.

Asian Flare Cabbage Salad

• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup canola oil (works also with a good olive oil)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt and another 1 tsp salt - one for salting the cabbage, one for the dressing
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 head (or more depending on how many people you are serving) cabbage, very thinly sliced.
• 1 medium stalk of broccoli with stem, sliced rather thin
• 3 green onions chopped
• 2 (or more) Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 (or more) Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Combine the first 5 ingredients and set aside ~ stir these occassionally to fully dissolve the sugar and salt.

Toss shredded cabbage and 1 tsp salt in colander or large mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour up to 4 hours. Rinse cabbage under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. (Can be refrigerated overnight.)

Toss the cabbage, broccoli, almonds and sesame seeds together in a large bowl. Just before serving, drizzle the dressing (which you've been stirring occasionally) over the salad and toss.

*This is really good with regular green cabbage. You can add in some shredded purple/red cabbage to make it prettier and if you can find a lovely head of napa cabbage instead of regular cabbage, that is really fantastic too. With the napa cabbage I find you don't have to go through the salt process.

** Don't skip the toasting of the nuts and seeds. This really gives the dish a lot of flavor.

***Start with the basic recipe, then if you like it (hello!! why wouldn't you) go crazy with the possibilities. Make it your own cabbage salad.

Island Chicken 'n Rice

This is an adaptation from a staple lu'au recipe called Chicken Long Rice. The problem, well not really a problem but more of a textural issue for me, is that the original recipe (and there are many, many versions) does not even have rice in it, but cellophane noodles. Not my favorite texture and doesn't make great left overs, of which we usually have much.

So, this all started because I was having a lu'au potluck for my birthday and wanted traditional lu'au food served. My wonderful friends volunteered to make me happy and bring these traditional foods, lomi-lomi salmon, chicken long rice, kalua pork, etc, etc. When it came down to the making of the chicken long rice, the poor girlfriend who volunteered to make what sounded like a no big deal rice dish, opted out. I don't blame her, there's no way I would have made that, it just didn't sound all that great and the recipes on the inet that I found admitted it was an acquired tastes. I digress.

A couple days before the party, I decided there was no reason that chicken long rice couldn't be made with regular rice, right? I mean, a recipe is a suggested combination of ingredients, not a mandate. At least that's how I see it.

I read a few of the recipes and made my own version, which, if I must say so myself, turned out pretty fantastic. At the party, this dish was completely gone and I've made it since (its only been like a week) and we still like it. Sharing with you my version. For those vegetarians out there, I think this would be a fantastic recipe substituting firm tofu for the chicken. The marinade would be perfect for soy products. Anyway...I've dubbed my version, Island Chicken 'n Rice

Island Chicken 'n Rice

• 1 - 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 5 - 6 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 - 3 inches fresh ginger, chopped finely
• 3 - 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 6 - 8 chicken thighs (bone in)
• 3 - 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 - 1 lb mushrooms of choice, sliced
• rice
• broth of choice (chicken, vegetable, mushroom, etc.)

Mix the first five ingredients together. (You can adjust the amounts each of these ingredients according to your own taste.) Marinate the chicken thighs (or tofu) in the sauce for 24 - 48 hours. Make the rice according to package directions substituting broth for the water. Over medium heat, stew the chicken with the marinade until the meat falls off the bone. Debone the thighs and set aside the meat. Lightly saute the mushrooms until done to your taste, add back the chicken meat to re-warm. Serve the chicken over the rice and top with the chopped green onions.

I served this with an asian cabbage salad (recipe to follow, some day soon) (and a nice glass of red table wine) and the combination was to die for. Or at least worthy of seconds.

The food went too fast for photos. The camera has been on the shelf for a few weeks, no time and unfortunately no energy for it. Bon appetite.

More randomness for a pre-holiday weekend Friday

Do you love lemon bars?

I lemon bars.

Its what's for breakfast ~ mine anyway.

Kashi Go Lean ~ Its my new favorite cereal.

Why? Well, it tastes good, has lots of fiber (everyone should have more fiber in their diets) and it also has enough protein to keep me going until lunch.

I've been a cereal girl since WAY back. My favorites and were the non-sugared varieties. Grape-Nuts, which neither contains grapes nor nuts were wonderful. The original, not any of the new-fangled flakes and what-not. I always liked Shredded Wheat (the big biscuit kind and spoon-size), Raisin Bran, Crispy Wheats and Raisins (do you remember those?? they were probably so very bad for humans,

what exactly was it that made them stay crispy in milk?),

Rice Krispies (these weren't really my first choice, but having them on hand ensured that once in awhile we'd get Rice Krispy Treats), oh, and the old faithful oatmeal. We also nearly always had the Chex family of cereals on hand (wheat, rice and corn). My favorite was actually the Bran Chex, which I think they may have stopped making. It always makes me nervous when a company stops making something. Did they find out it was actually harmful or did people just not like and buy it? Hmmm, well the first theory just doesn't make sense now that I think of things like Twinkies and Ho-Hos and Ding Dongs, oh my. Ok, I checked, maybe now they are called Multi-Bran Chex. I'll have to try them again. These were the cereal staples in our house.

I also currently think that any cereal by Nature's Path is really fantastic too. Definitely check them out.

We were allowed one sugared cereal every once in awhile. We'd always, of course, want Cocoa Krispies ".....its time for Cocoa Krispies, they are so choclatey..." (way better than their plain cousins), Honeycomb "...honeycomb's big, ya ya ya, its not small no no no....", Trix, mmmmmmm Super Sugar Crisp. Just the name brings back great memories. I can hear the commercial now. " super sugar crisp......"

We were never really into the Count Chocula, Boo-Berry or Frankenberry. Not sure why. Cap'n Crunch, not so much. Oh, and I also was rather grossed out by (I know, I'm in the minority here) Lucky Charms (just the thought still gags me). I never had Cream of Wheat or Farina until I was an adult. I can do without either of those. So, what cereals were/are you into? Is there some fabulous cereal or other wonderful breakfast staple a die-hard cereal gal should know about?

PS - Hungry yet?

the long haul ~ edition XIX

aka: aftermath ~ i'm not talking about trigonometry either

last weekend, i turned 40. i had many, many people asking how i felt and was it going to be weird and would my life as i know it end as foretold by the young ones. my reaction was simple and undaunted. it was going to be great. i didn't really have much of a choice in the matter, i haven't learned how to turn back time as of yet so i may as well embrace it. i have a lot of friends who will be turning 40 this year. it is a sort of group effort. we're all turning, so all have planned events for the turning(s). fun planned events to take the perverbial sting out of the realization that none of us are getting fewer wrinkles, etc.

my event was a lu'au in our back yard. (i can't believe i don't really have photos of the decorations ~ as they were pretty fabulous.) we had coconut shell candles and tikis and a fountain and colorful leis and a lei flower door and a wooden tiki and grass skirts around tables and paper lanterns of various and bright colors hung and multi-color and white lights hung around the sun room and mister strung white lights over the concrete patio like a ceiling of stars and everyone brought fabulous lu'au food, kahlua pork, lomi-lomi salmon, salad, island chicken 'n rice (my own version of chicken long rice where i substituted regular rice for the cellophane noodles which are the common name for long rice), beautiful fruit salad in hollowed out watermelons, cabbage salad, regular salad, pineapple and key-lime chiffon pies, brownies, macaroni salad, good heavens, i've forgotten what all was brought. plenty of beverages with paper umbrellas. my point is that i made it a celebration instead of a wake, you know? i went into it with gusto and had a fabulous time with my family and friends.

... its now the week after and as per my usual "i need something to focus on outside my own head" attitude (what is up with that!!??!?!?! ~ don't answer). anyway, now that the planning and the turning have happened, i have time again to focus on my new career. my new part time career. my new career that is going nowhere and staying there fast........ did that make sense? so, i know its literally only been a month, but i'm not very patient with myself. i want to know it all now and have plenty of clients and know how to handle their questions and not feel like i'm the outsider, the unneeded outsider who is just there to take, the one with literally nothing to offer. i have difficulty with feeling this way. i know it will take time, but as much as time flies, this kind of time taking is exhausting.

i thought that by this time in my life i'd be miss self-confidence and would literally ooze with poise and conviction and would have made some sort of difference here on this planet. i know i'll probably not invent the cure for cancer, but you know, some little mark, some little something that says, i was here.

when you add the full moon into the mix, its a recipe for melancholy. i'm going to immerse myself into this real estate thing which means marketing. promoting myself has never really been my strong suit, so wish me luck. i'm hoping as i dive into this head first, i'll find that i'll have something to focus on once again. the only problem is, the marketing has to really be all about turning and focusing on myself. that's difficult for me.

ok, so i only have a few pics which were sent to me by other guests. i did not get out my camera once. pity really.

anyway, these are my favorite boys, aaron (brother from another mother ~ he brought me shots of good scotch ~ we drank them together), moses (favorite brother and from the same mother ~ one of my heroes in life) mister (my most wonderful, amazing husband).

my most wonderful friend teresa, her handsome beau paul, theresa (my soon to be sister-in-law) and again, moses.

my beautiful friend tracey. she reminds me a bit of tracy ullman, beautiful inside and out and knows it in a good way. at the same time, she's completely ready to laugh at herself at the drop of a hat.

i wish i had more photos of all the lovely wahines who could be there. maybe i'll bug some people and get some more pics to post.

aloha

Out the window

I like to take pictures while I'm driving. Don't worry, I usually don't look through the view finder or at the little digital screen, I just see something that captures me, point and shoot. Most of the time, they don't turn out to be much of anything. Sometimes, those nothing pictures of blurryness make me stop and ponder though. Not because they are fabulous photos, but just because they are a glimpse in / of time and place and motion. Here's a short montage from the last time I went a travelin' to the beach to see family and friends. I started out in the wee hours of the morning in the dark and as I drove along the highway, slowly the fog lifted and the sun came out.

Just Reading: Eat Pray Love

If you have thought about picking up this book, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, but haven't yet, I recommend that you do. I am thoroughly enjoying this book on many levels. More on all that later.

For now, I had to quote from the book because, well, its just what I needed to hear when I read it. It felt powerful ~ to me. I leave you with these thoughts:

"You are, after all, what you think. Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions."

and

"...you should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong, instead."

Moo Fridge

~ ~ BEFORE ~ ~

~ ~ AFTER ~ ~

This is how the Moo cards are to spend their lives. I collaged (yes, that's a verb now) them with some other photos and this is the result. I'm pleased. I gave a stack of the Moo cards (which I had made into magnets) to my sister-in-law and she loved them. I'll give a stack to my bro this weekend while he's here to visit me, I can't imagine he won't love them too. I guess it helps to know that I Moo'd mostly vacation photos, vacations which sis-in-law and bro were in attendance, so the cards are relevant to them as well as Mister and me.

Happy weekends all. I'll be incommunicado until next week. It is my b'day weekend and a milestone, so will intentionally stay away from all things electronic (except my phone, of course). Funny, as I look back, last year weighed on me far more heavily than this seemingly more impressive one is. I'm having a fabulous time, throwing a b'day luau this weekend, most of my fav's will be there and the weather is supposed to be amazing.

Ciao Bellas!

PS - The trick, I've found, is when you are asked your age not to subtract 5 years but ADD 5 years. Think about it!! I'd much rather someone say, "good golly!! you look fabulous for 45" than have them say behind your back, "OY! that chick looks way older than 35".

You know?? Right?? Are you with me here?

Red and Orange and there may not be a reason

A red maple in our little yard on a blue sky day illuminated by the bright ball in the sky we call the Sun. It was reaching and glowing on this day. Like all the other plants in our yard, it has been waiting for the sun. Nothing has grown like it should. Everything is still small and timid. The weather is turning, finally. We have gone from mornings in the 30's (in May) to possible afternoons in the 90's, very soon, maybe, we'll see, don't hold your breath. I told Mister just last night that I was in love with the color orange for some strange, unknown reason. He said I was just missing the sun, looking for a substitute, a replacement. He may be right, or I may just like the color orange, for no specific or identifiable reason.

Thought provoking

"Change your thoughts and you change your world"

~ Norman Vincent Peale

Just Watched: The Kite Runner

I read The Kite Runner not too long ago. When I say read, I mean that I listened to it on Audible. You know, you down load the book on to an MP3 player then listen to it during times when you normally would not be able to read a book, like when driving or burning energy on the elliptical. After I had read the book and was perusing the site where I get my audible books, I realized I had read the abridged version. I can't tell you how disappointed I was. I had had conversations with a friend who had also read the book and she talked about a couple things that I had no idea about. I just figured, you know, my memory is going or that part of the book was boring to me and I tuned it out? Who knows. Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to re-read the entire book. But, when the movie came out, Mister wanted to see it and I figured it was my chance to possibly catch up on the parts I had missed.

While the movie, as per usual, wasn't Exactly true to the amazing book, it was done very well and in my opinion did the book justice, even with its omissions and changes. The basic story is there and you end up with the same feelings during and after (my stomach turned, I felt outraged, I shed a few tears). I don't know about you, but a story that evokes strong emotions and this one ran the gammut with me, will stay with me a long time. This story falls into that category for me.

I would recommend you watch it and form your own thoughts.

More Earthiness

I was sorely dissapointed with myself this recent Earth Day. So, I've been looking around at my life to determine where I can be more earth-friendly.

I've realized:

We take our own reusable grocery bags to the grocery store, quite often. Yes, it would be a perfect world if I always remembered them, but I try and succeed often if not all the time, and that is the first step.

I was a vegetarian for the longest time ~ solely for health reasons (as opposed to moral ones, that is). One day after many years of it, my body screamed out for a hamburger and I had no choice but to indulge it. It was very strange, but I try to listen to what my body tells me. It usually knows whats right for itself. So, I added back in chicken and some meat. For reasons I can't go into, I still couldn't do shrimp or pork (shudder). And agina, don't ask, I know I'm weird, I could do a slice or two at the most of bacon, but only while on vacation. It was known as the "vacation bacon caveat". I mean seriously, even if you don't eat meat, the smell of bacon could turn anyone carnivorous.....I digress. Then another thing happened, I met a carnivorous Mister and we dated then ended up married. Long story short, four and a half years after meeting Mister, I find myself more carnivorous than I have been in 20 years. I keep telling myself, or more to the truth, my body keeps telling me, to back off lean into my old vegetarian ways. Eating habits are hard to break, especially when you live with Mr. Carnivore himself. Oh, that's right, this was supposed to be the short version..... so, lately Mister has come around to realizing that to be more earth friendly and to reduce our carbon footprint (sorry, I hate that buzz word now) we should eat less meat. YAHOO! So, we now have several days each week without meat included in our dinner. I am told that being a vegan actually reduces a person's carbon footprint radically more than leaving the SUV in the driveway and biking / walking / strolling / skipping / hopping to whereever you must go.

Well, that's all I've got.

Oh, and Harley, just to brighten your day. He's pretty earthy too, lovin' the trees. He's a true tree-hugger.

Practice

Per the Shutter Sisters website, this weekend photographers everywhere were encouraged to get their flare on with small apertures. The above was my first shot. It turned out exactly as I wanted it to. All subsequent shots were not noteworthy. Funny how that is sometimes.

Just Watched: The Lives of Others

Deep and moving and thought provoking ~ I'd almost call it a thriller.

A peek into mankind in East Berlin post WWII, pre-Berlin Wall demise. A perspective on humans and their capabilities both corrupt and moral. The spectrum of what we (or I, at least) would consider the most basic human rights versus the Stasi overlords (for there is really no other word for it, in my opinion).

We occassionally feel oppressed, especially in the recessive times in which we live compounded by the impending election and all its hoopla. This movie will either cement your thoughts on our system or remind you that we have it better than we, as mostly complacent citizens, believe we have it. The life we live here in these States could be inexpressively more difficult. I'm not excusing anyone their faults here, just taking a look from another stance. Anyway...

Wow! Great movie. I would give it an A+, but that's me.

Morning - Third of May

...well, almost the 3rd of May. Close enough.

Moo

Have you heard of, or seen Moo Mini-Cards? They are so cool.

Basics: You upload your own photos (or they have all kinds of art and predesigned stuff too) the photos are cropped to fit the design size and then your photos are made into little mini cards - if you will. The Moo website, has a few ideas about what you could do with the mini-cards, festive ways to liven up the ordinary like punching a small hole, inserting ribbon to make a bookmark. They have other ideas that look fun too, check them out.

I've received one order so far. I used them as little gifts on my girls beach weekend and have another order in.

What I did with them: I made some bookmarks with ribbons that matched colors in the photos; and with the rest, I picked up some self-adhesive magnetic sheets and turned the mini-cards into 'fridge magnets. They are so much fun and super easy to make! I don't know about your 'fridge, but mine is covered with magnets purchased while on vacation and photos of family and friends. So the notion of combining the two was a no-brainer and a stroke of genius all in one. Well, I think so anyway.

Ignore the ugliness of the 'fridge and I'm no PhotoShop expert, so no judging my artist abilities here!

I now have vignettes of some of my favorite photos on my fridge. I gave some away as gifts, and I kept some for myself. It was an inexpensive, all things considered, and fun way to use the photos we look at once, oooh and aaah about then either put into an album to collect dust or the leave them on a disk somewhere in a drawer somewhere (maybe with a label) never to be seen again.

I have a photographer friend who uses these mini-cards as her business cards, at least I think she does. That's what my memory says to me. Either way, very cool.

They could be gift tags or place cards at a b'day party or formal sit down dinner or well just lots and lots of possible uses. My imagination isn't that creative when it comes to this stuff, but if you thought about it, I'm sure the possibilities are endless.

No, I don't have stock in the company, I just like when I come across something interesting, fun and uses my photos as art. Remember, I don't really have much of a life.

xo