Because life is short and its good to face your fears

So I’m afraid of heights. I have been since forever. I used to let it stop me from doing things, like riding on the roller coasters at Valleyfair, but now I don’t. When I was maybe ten or eleven, my older cousins came to visit and tried desperately to get me to join them on the Corkscrew with them. To me, that was even worse than the tall coaster- it turned completely upside down. They were not successful in their efforts to convince me, so instead I spent the entire day with my aunt riding on the ‘safe rides’ like the tilt- a-whirl and bumper cars.  I hated that feeling of letting the fear win.

A few years later when I went back to Valleyfair, I just decided I was going to ride on every single ride. Starting with the corkscrew. As I was standing in that line, I was terrified. I actually thought I might die from the fear. I wanted to scream, just sitting there, looking at the first big hill in front of me. But I didn’t. And off it went.  It was over quickly. And I didn’t die. In fact, I was thrilled! I rode it three more times right in a row. Then I went on every other single ride at the Fair. Including all the rollercoasters. And I learned that fear probably isn’t going to kill us, so if something is really important to you, you gotta go for it. And also, I’m still afraid. Every time they strap me in. But I haven’t let it stop me. In fact, my favorite ride is the Power Tower (which feels like it drops you from a million feet high). I’ve even gone parasailing in Mexico. Where it was just a glorifed balloon, a rope, and boat.

Which brings me to today. A gorgeous fall day, leaves in full color, warm but not hot out.  I decided I wanted to go hiking on the bluffs overlooking the St. Croix River. My favorite place near the Twin Cities is the River Bluff Trail on the Wisconsin side of Interstate State Park. You actually climb up and down rocks instead of just a woodchip trail, parts of it are steep, and there are many places where you can walk right up to the edge of the cliff, sit on a rock, and hang your feet over the edge. It’s a safe trail if you don’t do anything stupid, and its well-populated this time of year, so I didn’t worry about getting lost or anything, even though I decided to go alone. (Yes, I have gotten lost when hiking alone in the woods before, but that’s another story). Today, it was perfect and fun and beautiful. And I pushed myself to go sit on an overhanging rock to and to swing my feet over the edge more than once, and I took lots of pictures to remind myself of the rewards of facing my fears...

 

 

Things I think about when my face hurts from vodka

It would’ve been fine if I’d stuck with just the wine. It was saying ‘ok’ to that evil vodka mango drink that did me in. But it was a gorgeous night, there was a fire, and I was in a great mood- so I went with it. Don’t worry- my brain will kick my a#@ if I try to make THAT decision again.

I should be doing yard work right now (unless I’m trying to go for the wild jungle look, in which case I may have perfected it.)  I tried earlier. Really. But the sun hurt my face. It’s just so darn, well, shiny. If I could wear sunglasses that covered my entire head, I would try it. I bet that would totally work.

Things I’ve done instead, to try to feel better:

• Sleep. That didn’t work. It’s hard to sleep when even the sheets hurt.

• Eat scrambled eggs with salsa. Sometimes that works. My tummy felt better, but I still wanted to stick my face in the freezer.

• Take a long hot bath in my whirlpool tub. That didn’t help either, but at least I’m super clean

So it’s just me, and my hurting face, and my foggy brain, duking it out now. These are some of the things on my mind today:

Tortilla chips should be shaped like my bowl, and be skinny on the edge, so they act like tiny salsa shovels for my mouth.

I have the most amazing friends ever. Some of my friends could literally kick your friends’ a@#es. Don’t worry though- they won’t do that, ‘cause your friends are cool too. I, on the other hand, only know fake Kung Fu. So I can mimic the noises and jump around and entertain you, but cannot actually protect you from danger.

Even though my face hurts due to my own stupidity last night, I am happy. Like, ridiculously happy.  It’s awesome. And I’m not questioning it.

 

When my dog, Marley, comes to live with me, I wonder if she will be able to do helpful stuff, like fetch the dirty dishes to the dishwasher for me. That would be awesome!

 

Though, most likely the best I can expect is some pre-washing of the plates and clearing scraps off the floor with her doggie tongue. Don’t worry- I will run the dishes through the dishwasher before I cook for you.

 

How super grateful I am to have a job I love, a nice modest home to live in, awesome food to cook with, and amazing friends and family and people in my life who appreciate me for who I am, and make me laugh and smile :) and put my right foot in and shake it all about. < Wait; that last thing there is the hokey pokey.  Just seeing if you’re paying attention.  I was starting to get a little sappy…

Alrighty then, because I’m brave/ stubborn, it’s time to try once more to wander out into the yard, hedge trimmers in hand. (I best wipe that hung-over look from my eyes first, so I don’t scare the neighbors.) Here’s hoping you enjoy the rest of your day, and that you’re way smarter than I was about the whole following wine with vodka thing.

Homemade guacamole and a random story

 

Another quick yummy dinner! And super easy. Just some thick sliced tomato, sauteed greens, and homemade guacamole with diced onion, roasted garlic and creamy chiptole, all designed to top a burger. Here's the quick money shot:

I think a ground turkey burger would've been even better, but instead I used a veggie burger that I already had on hand. It was still pretty darn good. If I was hard-core about my cooking though, I would've gotten back in my car, and driven to the store. But you see, I'm not really a fan of grocery shopping, especially on a busy week night. Fan of food, yes. Grocery shopping, no. 

Thinking about my aversion to grocery shopping on weeknights made me think of an oddly humorous experience I once had (though I didn't think it was funny at the time)...

But before I share it, here's a picture of my toaster. As you can see, it's orange.

My orange tomato tonight made me think that you might want to see my orange toaster. Not many people have orange toasters. I like it.

Anyhoo, back to the story...

So one day, long long LONG ago, when I was still married, I arrived home in a super stressed out and not very happy mood after a long difficult day. I don't remember the circumstances; I just remember being upset. Don't ask me why, but he mentioned out loud that he thought it would be a great idea if I took the Blazer, so I could "get a break" and do some grocery shopping. I recall giving him a look like, "You DO know I hate grocery shopping, right?, " but then I thought better of saying any words out loud, and just grabbed the keys.  At the time, for reasons not worth discussing, we only had one car, and all I could think was I just wanted to get away. So off I went. And I drove, and drove. I don't even remember how far I went- I think to Little Falls and back, maybe further. I was gone a few hours.

When I walked back in the door, he asked, "Feel better?"
"Yep."
He looked at my empty arms. "Where are the groceries?"
"They were out," I explained.
"They were out of groceries?"
"Yep."
"They were out of groceries, at the grocery store?"
"Yep."I said calmly, gave him a look that suggested any more questions would be unadvisable, and just handed him the keys...

Random good food

OK, so I admit, I've been delinquent with my posts.

So here's what I made for supper tonight. I was super hungry after doing a little shopping. Shopping tends to stress me out a little, but it was all good. Bought a pair of non-baggy pants two sizes lower, Yay! So this is a picture of my sandwich, as I was just discussing.

It was pretty awesome. Wilted greens, thick sliced heirloom tomato, Wisconsin Havarti cheese, avocado, whole grain gluten-free bread. And it took like five minutes to make.

 

Here is the glamour shot, with some of Brian's homemade garlic pickles. Not fancy, but good.

 

Last night, I was in the mood for comfort food, so I made potato leek soup, and that was super nummy! I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures because I really really also wanted a a bath in my whirlpool tub, and that took precedence. I guess I can be selfish sometimes. :) 

Ingredients: one onion sliced thin, one leek sliced thin & rinsed well, some olive oil, butter, three stalks of celery chopped, 3 medium potatoes diced.

Simmer on the stove while taking a luxurious bath. When the soup is done, use an immersion blender to mix. Best left chunky. Do not overmix. Enjoy!


Finally, here are some pictures of food Mom and I made for dinner this weekend. The green stuff is spigarelli. It tastes like broccoli. We just added butter and salt.

 

... a simple fruit salad...

...and pork roasted with root veggies...

and a glass of wine... (not pictured).

 

 

Here's wishing you the good, simple, tasty life! 

CSA day and other awesomeness!

Not sure what's gotten into me lately. I'm a pretty positive person most of the time. But lately- I've been downright chipper! As in waking up smiling. Before I've even had one single cup of coffee.

Today was no exception. It doesn't hurt that it's CSA day! I get so excited to see what's in my box every week. I was super excited to see leeks, and skinny pink radishes, and some greens I have never tried before that are supposed to take like broccoli called spigariello. The box was bursting full!

 It will take me a while just to find room for all of it. Things I hope to make in the next week: creamy leek and potato soup, carrot ginger bisque, stuffed poblano peppers, and if I can find a gluten-free pie crust- sausage, spigariello, and pepper quiche.

 

 
Plus, over lunch today I got to see my friend Jessica, who I hadn't seen in WAY too long. We need to remember those awesome people in our lives. It was so great to catch up!



And this afternoon, I realized how lucky I am to have a job that I enjoy, that challenges me to always do my best, and has brought me so many terrific friendships.






For dinner tonight, I threw together a stovetop sautee of potatoes, onion, and mixed greens in olive oil, with one half of a diced jalepeno, some chiptole seasoning and salt, which I served with an egg over easy, for some extra protein. So simple, and so tasty.

When I go to bed tonight, I will count my blessings, and you can bet that you, my friends and family will be accounted for. :)

When less-than-perfect is totally OK

OK, I'm pretty embarrassed about a recent failure of mine. I'd like to try to play it cool, but reality has a way of kicking my a@# when I do. So, you may remember a couple days back, when I unleashed my fury (a can of bug killer) on a wasps' nest by my front door, and proclaimed them all gone in the space of about five minutes, while I was cooking dinner.

Well, sad, but true story. The next day, there were even more, only now they looked all angry. Can't say as if I blame them. But it was a blow to the ego and to girl power in general. And since I'm not ready to try again quite yet, I'm totally avoiding my own front door. Like a sissy. Oh well. I can accept that I can't be great at everything and can't always succeed on the first try; I will just try again once I find a new better strategy to attack my zombie clone wasps.

I haven't been cooking as much lately either. Mostly because when I don't get home until after normal dinner time, I'm not always feeling super inspired. Besides, who's going to complain? Amanda's at college and she's not always appreciative of my cooking anyway.

The good news is I can make whatever I feel like. Tonight I wanted broccoli. There is nothing like fresh broccoli from a CSA, or the Farmer's Market, or your own garden. It's good to know where your food comes from. Plus you don't hafta mess with it. Steam it, add a little butter, and some course ground salt- awesome!!!

And since that wasn't enough to make a meal, I re-heated some of my homemade eggplant lasagna. It was delicious (though not attractive- you can't even tell what it was. lol! ). And yet it was even better as leftovers than it was right out of the oven.

Finally- a little insurance to assure the quality of the dinner experience- a margarita on the rocks with good tequila, Cointreau, and fresh squeezed orange juice.

OK, so technically it probably wasn't a margarita, but who cares? And after that, who needs dessert?

Sometimes it's good to settle for less than perfect! You should try it.

Fun Day with the Family at Ren Fest

My cousin Carmen invited me to tag along with the family to the Renaissance Festival today. And since she's long past the days of ganging up with my brother Steve and chasing me and her sister Becky with junebugs, of course I said yes. (She actually turned out to be a more normal adult than me.) Plus I love her kids to pieces, and her husband Tom is pretty funny too. And also my aunt Ole (mom's sister) decided to come with. Ole practically raised Amanda- she provided all of her child care from 0-5 years old, and then some. Needless to say, Amanda considers her more like a Grandma than a great aunt.

Since there was so many of us; we took two cars. I was pretty psyched when Carissa and Jenna chose the "Girlz Rule" car (mine). Though I  admit, I was saddened that they didn't know any of the words to the Def Leppard or Bon Jovi songs. Good thing they are still young.

We started at Mermaids Cove. The line was super long and slow, so we had high hopes. Turns out the mermaids were very boring -maybe the guys would disagree- but we had fun chatting with each other. Jenna wanted a picture with me in front of one of the mermaids tanks, so here where are, enjoying the beautiful day.

Carissa and Matthew wanted me to walk through The Secret Garden trail with them. Couldn't say no to those faces...

 

Then it was time for Zilch the TorySteller (story-teller)- my favorite! This was the family, right before we all started laughing. (Nearest to farthest: Carmen, Carissa, Ole, Jenna, Matthew, Tom)

 

Jenna bought this decorative head thingie- and kindly modelled it for me. She is pretty much the only one in the family who actually likes getting her picture taken.

 

Carissa obliges, but only cause she likes me.

 

And Matthew insists on making silly faces.

 

 

More fun....

 

Jenna and I were taking pictures of everyone eating, especially her dad, because they looked so funny. I was super nice and deleted all of mine. After we laughed hysterically at them.

 

Carissa wants to be a herpetologist when she grows up, so she was extremely happy to get to touch the lizards and snakes.

 

This lady asked I wanted to touch her lizard, and when I said "Um, no thanks," she looked very offended that I would pass on this once in a lifetime opportunity. She liked Carissa though.

 

This snake was so long it didn't even fit in the picture. I didn't pet it either, but no one was offended by that.

 

 

Taking a break in the shade. Probably discussing how unrealistic the jousting is when no one falls bleeding off their horse.

I love this picture of Carissa and Ole. Aren't they cute?

Jenna and Carmen, being pickles. Carmen is a good mom to be in a pickle like this, just to make her kid happy.

We had a lot of fun, and we completely wore Ole out. Good times with the family on a Sunday. That's what its all about.

Yummy Summer Lasagne

Very productive day. I was super tired when I left work, but there was more to be done, so I just bucked up and did it. Maybe it helped that I had to stop at Fleet Farm on the way home. It's one of the few places I like to shop- I just love how that place smells. Yep, I'm weird.

Anyhoo, I had all these veggies at home -from my CSA and my weekend up north- that needed to be used, so even though it was tempting to go eat out, I decided to make fresh tomato and eggplant lasagna, from scratch. Cause that's how I roll. Sometimes.

Some people say eggplant is bitter.They might be right, but not when I make it. After slicing one medium eggplant in thick slices, I sprinkle it liberally with salt, and let it sit until water beads on the surface. Like in this picture. Then rinse it, and pat it dry, because you need to brown it in a hot pan in some olive oil (or on the grill) and you don't want it to taste greasy.

Then I sliced two heirloom tomatoes (one yellow, and one red) in thick slices, so they would hold up when they were cooked.

Next, I chopped a small onion and two cloves of garlic, and sauteed them as well.

 

 

 

Cook a half package of lasagna noodles until they are not quite  done.

(I used gluten-free pasta, so I could eat it.)

Drain the pasta, and layer your ingredients. I added fresh spinach as a layer too, because I had some to use. Bake for about 45 minutes, covered. (If you wanna be like me- while you're waiting for the lasagna to cook, you can destroy that pesky wasp nest on your front porch. )

Then top with shredded cheese and bake another 10 minutes or so. I used Tilset cheese, from Wisconsin. Just 'cuz.

Slice and enjoy. Yum!!!

Birthday wishes, from Duffy's Patio

Very relaxed, finally, after a long exciting weekend, with just the right amount of socializing. One thing I am sure of, is how incredibly blessed I am to have wonderful people in my life that I care very much about. Life is short; my birthday wish is that we didn't have to ever be reminded of that. And that we remember to live life to the fullest, and appreciate the people in our lives.

I'm too tired to tell stories that will captivate or entertain you, so instead I leave you with some pictures from my birthday bbq celebration on my deck -which I have dubbed Duffy's Patio and Pub- that runs the length of my house. It was a lovely evening: seranaded by crickets and sounds of boats on the river, filled with good food, pitchers of white sangria, and plenty of laughter with friends & their families, by candlelight.