Article topics submitted

Okay, I did it!  I've officially submitted my article topics to the editor of the web magazine - here's hoping he understands and likes my vision.

Thank you to all my scrapping friends who helped me think through some very useful topics.  There is amazing value in reaching out to the folks who share a similar passion...they definitely reminded me of areas to focus on for the new scrapper.

Now if they could only write the articles for me too - ha!

I'll keep everyone posted :)  If I get to proceed, my first article would be on the general introduction of scrapbooking and a fun project.  I'm thinking of scrapbooking a page on the tamale making process.  I have an idea in my head of how to make a corn husk with paper to shape into little tamale embellishments.  this is gonna be fun :)

Walking through an open door

There is the saying that when opportunity knocks, you open the door.  Well, I've finally opened the door, and I am gladly walking through it!

I'm so excited I can't contain my excitement!!!

Not too long ago, I had accepted a facebook friend request from a gentleman who was the founder and editor of web magazine.  We had some mutual friends in common, so I thought it would be good to support his efforts.  Little did I know that there would one day be an opportunity to benefit from this friend request.  And yet....here it is!

He posted a call out for potential columnists and bloggers.  Topic submissions were open to a variety of issues and so I thought - what do I have to lose?  I sent him an email about my scrapbooking and couponing.  I totally wanted him to say that he wanted to learn more about my scrapbooking, but I assumed he would be intrigued about the couponing due to the state of the current economy.  Who am I kidding - I honestly didn't think he would be interested by either topic.

Well.......I'm super excited to share that he wants me to consider being a regular contributor on the topic of scrapbooking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What?!!!!!

So now I'm thinking through what my first two articles will be.  I'm lucky to have many fellow scrapbookers whom I've reached out to for some guidance.  I've already gotten some amazing ideas on how to direct my first couple of posts - things I honestly didn't think about off-the-bat, but definitely great ideas.

Oh the planning!!!!!!!

I'm also working on two projects right now - one for a client that turns 40 at the end of the month, and the other project is my best friend's wedding invites.  Oh the creativity that is oozing out right now is energizing my super tired body!

Yoga might need to take a back seat for awhile...or at least studio based yoga. I'm going to try and at least go on the weekends and do my best to squeeze it in during the week.

To watch my weight or not watch my weight....that is the question

Well, I've slacked off on the yoga because I'm racing home to work on stuff or because I'm up late because I can't fall asleep.  I've been drinking a TON of caffeine and almost stopped drinking all the water I had gotten used to drinking. 

From my previous entries about hot yoga, you know that I need to be fully hydrated to survive the hour long heated session.  I honestly felt nauseous and light headed my first time, which taught me a huge lesson.  So starting tomorrow, I need to get back on track.

I've also decided to rejoin Weight Watchers.  Since I've been better about grocery shopping and cooking due to couponing, I might as well cook the healthiest I can, right?

One of my amazingly wonderful best friends is getting married in late March in Puerto Rico.....so the goal is to drop at least 30 pounds in the next 6 months!  I would love it to be higher, but let's start slow, right?  That's a 5 pounds per month weight loss goal....pretty reasonable if I really stick to my plan.

Here goes nothing!

A quote that nails it....

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind.  To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse.  To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better.  To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."

- King Whitney, Jr.

 

I've been in a serious funk....a mostly unhappy, stressed out funk for the past couple of months. Personally and professionally, I've seen some changes - some pleasant and some not.

 

I haven't made anything creative in quite some time because I've let the funk consume me.  NOT FUN (If I were on facebook, I would be screaming for an unlike button). I'm not one to normally express my stress outwardly, but I've come unhinged a bit.

Has that really helped?  Hmmmm....I guess.  At least I feel heard.

Is it changing anything?  Hmmmm....not really.

So....what to do.....not sure.  What I do know is that I need to release creatively.  Sooooo this weekend...I'm gonna work on something scrapbooky, go dancing, and drink lots with my friends.  I just need a few, unrestricted giggles right now.

Then we can think about the change we need and hope it is, in fact, inspiring.

I think I'm falling in love with Yoga

Now that I have a "plan" on what I'm going to do about my work circumstances...I need to start doing something to take away the frustration and rejuvenate my burnt out self.  Though not the main reason for starting yoga last week, it has helped me ease out some of the tension I've been feeling for the past couple of years.

As you can probably tell, I'm fried.  If you've known for me for a long time....know that I'm totally fried, more than I ever have been :(  So enough...do something, right?!

Yoga was something I wanted to do for my health.  I literally need to get my fat butt moving and gyms do not work for me. I've tried taking a couple of aerobic classes in the past and I find that I get angry at the instructors who say. "5 more".....then follow it up with..."can you feel that?  let's do 5 more."  Rather than focusing on what's going on physically, I realize I start concentrating on how much I hate the instructor.  Totally makes me lose focus and makes working out less fun.

Working out with my more fit friends is also frustrating cuz I can't keep up.  Though they are super nice and encouraging, I know I'm just holding back their workouts.  So again - not fun!

I decided to do something alone and had a free week to try out yoga.  Low and behold...I think I may have found something that will work for me.  In fact, I think I may LOVE yoga! 

Don't get me wrong...yoga is HARD....but the calming voice of the instructor and the insistence to listen to your body and take breaks (or modify moves) as needed is great.  I can take a breather, drink some water and get back into it.  I've also discovered that I have pretty good balance...so some of the poses aren't impossible.  My weakness is the lack of strength in my wrists and ankles.  But that should get better.  I don't buy into the spiritual aspect of yoga, but I like the quietness and stillness you have when working out.

Here are some of the moves I've done and how I'm doing.  Enjoy picturing me trying to position myself like this - ha!

This is a pose that I'm in A LOT.  At first, it's a pretty simple pose, but when you add a bunch of downward dogs, planks, stand up, etc. in a continuous motion, it gets harder and harder to do!

Though I have great balance, this move is deceivingly difficult to hold.  It starts to eat at your ankles and your start having trouble balancing.  Silly move....looks so simple.

This is another pose that looks soooo easy.  However, as your exhale and let your body release further into the fold, you slowly start to feel the burn on the outer edge.  The longer you hold it, the more you start to sweat.

Totally a move I enjoy the first couple of times.  I'm pretty flexible and this doesn't put too much pressure on one ankle. 

Oh the reverse warrior.  My oh my!  Totally manageable until the 10th time and your legs in the lunge position start to quiver and your stretched out side starts to burn.

Do NOT get me started.  I have no upper body strength.  After all the downward dogs, planks, etc....I have almost no strength to try and do this one right.  At the moment, I modify this move and put some weight on a bended knee.  I will one day be able to get to this point in the workout to do this move full out.

Dancer's pose....yikes!  For some reason, I have a hard time reaching back for my leg without a wall to hold onto.  It's kinda weird.  I fake it by balancing with my leg out and arm out (which is a different move), but I get some of the effect of this move.  It's weird that I can balance this out decently but that I have a hard time grabbing my foot.  I will conquer this move too someday!

Happy Birthday, Julia Child!

Sunday, August 15th would have been Julia Child's birthday.  In true foodie form, many make sure to celebrate the anniversary by gathering fellow foodies and having an entire meal from Julia's cookbook - Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

As I have mentioned previously, I am blessed to have many chefs and fellow foodies in my life.  I consider myself a foodie in that I LOVE to eat great food.  Can I cook?  Sure...I get by fine, but I definitely do not own many cookbooks (yikes!).  I cook what I know and periodically venture into some new items.

So you can imagine my panic when I received an invitation to BE Julia for the day.

Having the week from hell work-wise, I knew that I would not be able to prep much or even have time to get groceries ahead of time.  So I proceeded to search for easy recipes that used few ingredients.  I landed on the Potato-Leek Soup and was so excited because all I need to buy was leeks and chives to finish my ingredient list.

I had NO IDEA that this was an iconic Julia dish!

Anyway, I thought I would share the process and the story of my dish.

I started with my 2 quarts of chicken broth.  Eek!  I deviated from the original recipe on this item only.....I knew that the chicken broth would help add a lot flavor to the soup.  So with great confidence, I proceeded boldly.

I then proceeded to chop the potatoes and leeks for the soups.

I found out too late that I should have used Yukon gold potatoes as they are naturally creamier.

I seasoned with the salt and let the potatoes and leeks simmer for about an hour.

An hour later, I used a potato masher to mash the softened potatoes and leeks.  I quickly realized that it was a good thing I started my soup early.  This is what it looked liked after some serious mashing.

There was about an inch of liquid on top of the mashed goodies.  OH OH.....I took the soup off the heat and proceeded to make another batch of potatoes (no salt, no chicken broth).  When they were cooked, I blended the softened potatoes with a bit of the stock from the original soup to help blend the flavors a bit.  I put the blended mixture in to the original soup and I let it cook together for another 20 minutes.

I came back to the soup and decided to stir it up a bit.  OOOOOOOHHHHH NOOOOOOO!  I could tell something was sticking to the bottom.  I was actually BURNING my soup!  I found another pot and transferred the non-burned soup mixture.  The soup didn't taste burned and it didn't look like any burned potatoes/leeks made into the soup transfer.  This is what the bottom of my pot looked like!

Disaster avoided!!!!

I had no idea if my soup tasted the way it was supposed to, but I knew that it tasted good and people would enjoy it.  I'm happy to say that it was a huge hit!!!

Low and behold the feast that awaited me upon my arrival!  Here are just a few samples of the yummy goodness I sampled on.

Everyone was asked to show up with aprons, hats, and pearls.  I love anything that requires a costume and will go full force when asked to participate.

Here's a quick peek at some of us enjoying the great summer weather in the backyard.

We are about to delight in some delicious chocolate mousse!!!!!  It was the perfect ending to a spectacular meal!

Oh and I can't forget to mention our youngest chef of the night, my buddy Emma, who came around and asked us all to take a little scroll.  Each scroll contained funny, fun, great Julia Child quotes.

Thank you Emma and Mel for a fantastic evening!  I can't wait until next year!

My family loves me

About two weeks ago, our area got hit with a lot of rain over night.  When I say a lot, I mean the kind that creates flooding issues on the streets and, unfortunately for me, in basements.  In my case, this translated into me waking up to a soggy basement apartment.  Oh my :(

I went into a severe panic as I raced around unplugging things and worrying that my cat was going to get sick from drinking anything.  I was also worried we would get electrocuted.

Thankfully, I only got about an inch of water in parts of my house...but that was enough to crush my spirit.

I picked up my cat and ran out the door.  I drove Charlie to the parents our of safety concerns and was lucky enough to have a momma who came back with me to help me clean my house.  Amazingly, by the time we bought a dehumidifier and got to my house, most of the eater was gone.  But there was still some cleaning to do....lots of drying to do...and lots of disinfecting to do.  I had multiple family members come to my rescue too -- it was very touching.  I couldn't resist taking pics of everyone as they worked hard to help me get my house back in order.

Thank you Azul and Marcy for your double mopping duty!

Thank you Andy for that major vacuuming action!

Thank you mom, Jacky and Lorena for helping me finish up!