Yes, But The Upside Is...

Abby and Coz

2011-08-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

The other night, my cats were acting as my personal centurions. This is something they do often, following me wherever I go around the house. They seem to know by my rituals whether my movements around the house signal it is their time to follow me or if they should stay put.

This particular evening, they knew that I was just moving around in the back of the house and would be coming back out. They stationed themselves where they could watch and wait for me to return, in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

Something about this ritual of ours struck me as funny and I felt a need to grab the camera. It seems that by my retreating back to my bedroom, Coz thought it meant that I was going to stay back there and he followed me. Abby stuck to her post until I laid down on the floor with the camera and then both cats got weird.

Their expressions are priceless.

Abby and Coz thought it was going to be all snuggly time.

My babies are amazing.

I love that Abby and Coz need to be around me. They constantly talk to me. Coz especially has this range of sounds that he uses when he wants certain things. Abby has the need to procure anything that is small enough for her to run off with and play kitty hockey. They have one job function. They are the exterminators and they are great at it. They are my furry little compadres.

Okay, this just sounded a lot like that crazy cat lady who everyone grew up with on their block.

Off With Her Head

2011-07-09T09:09:00.002-07:00

While shopping at one of my favorite scrapbooking stores in Mesa, called Mystic Paper, I spotted the most enchanting dolls made out of paper clay.

I knew from the class schedules that the artist occasionally will teach a class in how to make these dolls. I wasn't that interested in learning how to make them, but I was curious if the artist would possibly make me an Alice in Wonderland doll.

Thankfully from there everything fell into place and I received my Alice and Queen of Hearts dolls earlier this week.

Enchanting!!

How I spent My Summer Vacation...

2011-07-08T19:26:00.003-07:00

My husband and I spent several days over the July 4th weekend at one of our favorite spots in Arizona, Kohl's Ranch. See my Summer Getaway page for photos of Kohl's Ranch and our outings.

We had such a wonderful time getting away from the heat and being back in a place that holds many happy memories. From sitting on our patio enjoying cool evening temps and great wine to treking around the Kohl's Ranch property to some fantastic scenery at the Mogollon Rim and Woods Canyon Lake to enjoying time spent with my son Jimmy and also some fun shopping. It was great.

The most amazing and somewhat humbling experience was spotting the bald eagle at Woods Canyon Lake. The most surprising experience was finding a really decent Thai Restaurant in Payson. The funniest experience was locking the club on my car after leaving the key to remove it back at the lodge, then having to hike from across the highway to the lodge to retrieve it. The best food experience was the Rainbow Trout at the lodge. Simply to die for!! The best shopping find, my new amethyst ring. Oh, and the Tim Holtz stuff I found at the scrapbook store in Payson.

The entire trip was absolutely fantastic and left us wanting to visit again soon.

Cooking Puerto Rican

2011-06-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were treated to a wonderful dinner at my Father In Law's house. His fiance is Puerto Rican and she prepared chicken fricase, rice, salad with all kinds of veggies and fruit in it and a squash flan. It was such a fantastic meal, that I decided I wanted to attempt the chicken, rice and salad this weekend while the experience was still fresh in my mind. We invited our hosts to dinner last night, along with my step sons and their girlfriends.

Unfortunately, this is the only picture I took. The wine and the company took my thoughts away for the remainder of the evening. But I think this picture shows off the main dish well.

A Little Fairy With A Tude

2011-06-18T10:47:00.001-07:00

I was inspired to make a fairy paper doll for my 10 year old Great Niece

Elaina this week. She is coming over with my in-laws for dinner tonight, to help me with my first attempt at making a Puerto Rican dish.

I thought it would be fun to give the doll a little attitude.

Perfected?? Or perhaps it would be better if she had a frying pan in her hand???

Till next time...

Lots Of Paper Dolls

2011-05-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

I am in love with Character Contructions paper doll stamps. The idea of creating paper dolls for my grand daughters, great nieces and even for myself inspires me to play.

I had several sets already but when I took stock of what I had, I realized that I didn't have the necessary components to turn them all into dolls. Okay, okay, this is an obvious ploy, but it is one that I have successfully used over time to talk myself into a stamp purchasing frenzy.

I purchased directly from Character Constructions. Look at how cute they packaged my purchase. The catalog of mermaid images in the upper left corner are the newest sets and are something to wish for down the road.

Voici, à l'intérieur du paquet

Aren't these cool?

I can't wait to play with them.

Walking On The Creative Side

2011-05-30T10:00:00.001-07:00

Lately, I have been in a creative mood which is resulting in more pages in my Art Journal. Take a peek.

Next up, paper dolls for the grand daughters and great nieces.

Glittering Baubles

2011-05-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 18th wedding anniversary. My husband treated me to Z Tejas for lunch and jewelry for the afternoon.

As I grabbed the camera and jewelry to catch the early morning light, my husband informed me that he is just another step closer to getting pipes for his bike. Of course he is.

The price of indulgence.

Rebirth

2011-05-06T22:40:00.001-07:00

This year, I had several "rebirths" in my garden. This year's freebies are sunflowers, alysum, snapdragons, and stock. Talk about getting your money's worth.

Once again, I was compelled to snap photos of the sunflowers. It truly amazes me to see a mandala in nature such as the one inside this sunflower. I find myself staring and tracing the pattern.

Click to enlarge the picture below. You can see hundreds of tiny flowers opening.

From my perspective, I can understand how mandala's were used as religious symbols throughout civilzation.

Nature's Art

2011-05-06T22:25:00.001-07:00

This is a new plant to the garden. Sadly I can't remember the name of the plant, but it is a type of Iris and it likes a lot of water.

The payoff is this beautiful flower. The flower only lasts one day, but the shoot (stem) has produced 3 blooms so far. I am hoping this plant will establish itself and produce more of these beauties.

Snow on Superstitions

2011-04-09T17:49:00.002-07:00

We had what is probably our last winter storm of the season today and it brought snow to the mountains surrounding the Valley of the Sun. When I noticed snow on Superstition Mountain, my first thought in was that I should go home, grab my new camera and head out to take pictures.

I am so glad we did this today. It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon.

Trekking Around Up North

2011-04-03T16:43:00.031-07:00

Last week, my husband and I were in Payson, visiting my son, enjoying cooler temps and beautiful scenery. While driving to Pine for lunch, we passed the entrance to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. We heard that the State was closing this Park due to lack of funds, so when we passed by and saw that the park appeared to be open, we decided that after lunch, we would drive in and spend a couple of hours.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is situated in a small canyon, surrounded by steep forrested walls. At first glance, you will notice that you are in a small valley in the middle of a Pine forrest. There is a beautiful building, green grass, picnic areas and parking lots. The canyon opens to the South and offers a wonderful view beyond.

In the following shots, you can see how errosion as shaped the walls leading to the bridge.

So where is the bridge? Hit the trails and you will eventually find what is believed to be the worlds largest natural travertine bridge. These shots are directly under the bridge.

Further up stream, there is a waterfall that I would have loved to hike down into, not to mention hiking down to where I could get under the bridge, but sadly I did not have the proper foot attire on this trip. So instead, I contented myself with taking pictures from up top.

In addition to learning the hard way that I need throw my hiking shoes into the car for those "just in case" moments, I also learned the hard way that I need to make sure my camera battery is fully charged or bring along a spare. Unfortunately, the battery was drained after I snapped these photos and I lost the opportunity to get some spectacular views of the bridge.

Thankfully, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is funded to remain open until July 2011. We are planning another trip soon and you can be sure that I will bring the right gear so I can hike down this trail and get those amazing shots of this gorgeous place.

2011-03-23T17:36:00.008-07:00

While on vacation this past week, my sister, her husband and I enjoyed a trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Each time they travel to Arizona, Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a must see. There is something so special about this place. It offers a never ending variety of things to see and gorgeous scenery.

I highly recommend this park for a quick break from the hustle and bustle of the city and for the outstanding opportunity to commune with nature.

Check out my hiking page for more pictures.

Happiness is...

2011-02-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the garden. As we are about to get another round of winter storms this weekend, I snapped these pics in the last of the afternoon sun today.

Afterwards I sat in the glider and soaked up the sun, hung with the dogs and read in my book.

A wonderful way to end a week of work.

Garden Shots

2011-02-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

The plants are coming along...

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”

Henry Matisse

Plants, Plants and More Plants

2011-02-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

What did I do over my 4 day weekend? Aside from errands, and attending to personal stuff, I spent about 10 hours over the last 3 days in the garden. It was a lot of work, I am stiff and sore, but my planter and pots are done.

At long last I have blooming plants throughout my backyard and can look forward to more flowers over the next few months.

Another Beautiful BTA Day

2011-01-31T11:30:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed a thoroughly gorgeous day in the Arizona desert. While almost everything at Boyce Thompson Arboretum is still dormant, we found a few pockets of color.

My hiking page has been updated with more pictures of our trip.

Jayson turns 2

2011-01-31T11:24:00.001-07:00

I love this picture. It picks up the quiet and sweet nature of this little boy.

Okay, it is really more that Jayson was contemplating his presents. In a blur, he wasted no time ripping open the wrappings.

With a little help from my friends.

With a little help from brother.

Junior found a moment alone with Jayson's new toy.

Shrek and Donkey

Happy Birthday Angel!!

Christmas Crafting

2011-01-31T11:08:00.004-07:00

The following items were crafted by my sister.

Distressed tag with German scrap Santa.

Embossed metal ornament with sparkles.

Beautiful treasures that will be among my Christmas ornaments for years to come. Thank you Sis!!

Christmas Cheer

2010-12-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Spending time with my Grandson's this year made for a truly wonderful Christmas.

This is Jayson. His favorite movie is Cars so we got him the movie and Mater's Tales, along with Lightening McQueen and Mater.

Robbie Jr. is scooting himself all over the floor. He is such a doll.

Abby was such a good kitty and hung out with the kids all day and all night.

Catch me as Jr. can? Catch me as cat can? Either way, it was a perfect photo op.

Tis The Season For Redish Things

2010-12-23T18:09:00.001-07:00

Some of my favorite redish things from 2010

New fall geraniums and baskets

Christmas bouquet 1

Christmas bouquet 2

Peonies

Revisiting cactus blooms from Summer 2010

Revisiting flowers from Spring 2010

Merry Christmas!!!

Pumpkin Head Paper Dolls

2010-11-15T20:56:00.001-07:00

This year for Halloween, I was inspired to make Pumpkin Head paper dolls for my grand daughters and great grand nieces. I had such a fun time creating these little dolls and accompanying envelopes.

I was inspired by the recent purchase of these little dears while my sister was visiting this Fall. The dolls also served as Halloween cards for my little dears.

The dolls are from Character Constructions, Paperdoll pARTs.

The banners are from the Martha Stewart craft line.

The images on the envelop and tag are Tim Holtz and Zettiology.

Another Fall at BTA

2010-11-07T16:16:00.003-07:00

Sometimes you just have to spend some time doing whatever it takes to restore vitality, perspective, inspiration, enthusiasm...to one's life. When I am feeling the need for restoration, that means it is time for a trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

We found many leaves turning into their fall colors. We also found a few critters out and about.

Conn and I ended our walk with a nice long sit in the Demonstration Garden where the view overlooks Picketpost Mountain. Afterwards we enjoyed a yummy picnic lunch before heading home. For more pictures, see my Hiking page.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." John Muir

October

2010-10-02T08:53:00.002-07:00

There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October. Nathaniel Hawthorne

All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken. Thomas Wolfe

Top 10

2010-10-02T08:46:00.001-07:00

Holding my newest grandson.
Playing with my grandchildren
Carribean grilled chicken salad
Star Trek
Pulled pork sandwich in adobo sauce with apple coleslaw and crisp fried onion rings
Fall sun angles
Cool mornings
Wild morning glories
Listening to my fountain while posting blogs.
Poems read by John Lithgow and Friends from The Poets Corner

Random White Things

2010-09-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

Bubbles

Puffy clouds

Lola

Beautiful glass work

Waves hitting the shore

Spray

My dream house in San Francisco

San Francisco

Top 10

2010-09-24T18:53:00.002-07:00

Lazy weekends
Chuy's California Tacos
Playing in my art journal
Tim Holtz demos
Laughing at work
Being part of a great company.
The sound of my chimes
The sound of my fountain
Taking 15 minutes at the end of my day to unwind and listen to my chimes and fountain
Salmon with honey, butter and whole grain mustard sauce

Life is amazing...

2010-09-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

These morning glories came out of some bird seed we were using last year. They are back and thicker this year. Today was the first day I found blooms on the vines and there were many.

The blooms are very pale and the dimension across the top is no larger than a quarter.

This vine is working its way up the lemon tree.

I can't wait for October to get here so I can begin to plant and spend time in the back yard again.

Top 10

2010-09-18T12:20:00.001-07:00

Trout with lemon and cilantro rice
Boyce Thompson Arboretum
Saw a Ford Fairlane in excellent condition
Chrysanthemum tea
Mango Jamba Juice - Yum, they passed out free at work this week
Lucille's BBQ sauce on chicken, served with cheesy mashed potatoes and corn
Wore my new jewelry that my sister made me
The T.V. show Leverage
Yoga
I really, really love my job

Boyce Thompson in September

2010-09-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

A month and a half is just getting to be too long between visits to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. The first thing we noticed when we drove into the parking lot were all the butterflies and dragonflies. It was incredible how many there were buzzing here, there and everywhere.

On the way to Ayers Lake, we found cactus in bloom.

The colors and sheen in the bloom above, reminded us of Christmas candy.

So shiny, they look like they are made from satin.

Ayers Lake

We saw some critters.

While standing near this bush at the lake, I was able to get some cool pictures of dragonflies.

It was another spectacular day at BTA. So glad we were able to get out of the house and go.

Until next time....

Top 10

2010-09-11T09:13:00.001-07:00

Mom came home from the hospital last weekend
Daily visits with mom
3-day weekends
New Beth Ciotta book
Pool time
Mexican food
Veal chops marinated with lemon and thyme
Grandkids
Martha Stewart baby back ribs with Lucille's BBQ sauce
Presents from my sister

August Showers

2010-08-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

The Monsoon rolled in on Saturday, dumping a lot of rain fast. It rained hard for about 5 minutes, then sprinkled for maybe 10 minutes, then completely stopped.

After the rain stopped, the skies cleared to the west, and as the sun began to set, the light cast a rosey glow on the clouds to the east.

The white cloud in the foreground looked so dramatic against the darker clouds.

Spectacular

One last view of the white cloud before the skies became too dark.

This year, Arizona's Monsoon season did not disappoint. We had significant rainfall in our area of the valley and thankfully no damage.

Cat Fetish???

2010-08-28T11:28:00.003-07:00

I had to post this picture of Coz sleeping on Conn's flip flops this morning. Amazingly, he'd been laying there sleeping peacefully while I was putting away last night's dinner dishes. He was clearly sacked out and so I became inspired to grab the camera and take a picture.

Coz raised his head and looked at me for a few seconds right before I snapped the picture, but thankfully layed back down and went back to sleep. Such an obliging kitty. I guess I could say he took one for the cause. Haha.

There is a bit of a story with our cats Abby and Coz and their need to sleep or roll around on our shoes. The other night Conn and I watched Abby and Coz in an odd battle of wills. Abby had been on Conn's flip flops and Coz wanted her spot. It wasn't really a fight with them rolling and bitting each other, but rather that they were conveying their displeasure with airplane ears and snappy tail movements.

Finally, in a very stubborn manner, Abby moved off of Conn's flip flops and over to mine. A few minutes later, she huffed away and Coz took up residence on Conn's flip flops.

I'm not sure what this says about our foot odor, but it appears to be a comforting place for our cats.

Awesome Sunrise

2010-08-28T11:13:00.002-07:00

These pictures were taken around 6 a.m., Thursday morning. The sky was so dramatic that I had to get some pictures.

The sky was gorgeous with the sunrise on these clouds that were in the southwest part of the valley.

What a beautiful way to begin a day.

A Beautiful Mess

2010-08-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

This past week it seemed that all I wanted to do was play in my room. I cut short my normal time spent in front of the TV during dinner just to get more time in my room. The object of my attention is as usual, my art journal.

I used iridescent watercolors to wash the pages. The page on the left was done in gold and the page on the right was done in a silvery light blue. The interesting part is that after I stamped and used dye based inks over the top, the shimmery iridescence still came through.

White noise

2010-08-11T21:12:00.004-07:00

I really had to laugh the other day. We were enjoying dryer, cooler than normal weather for August, and consequently I went around the house and turned off most of the fans. This reduced the white noise in the house significantly as this time of year, every fan we own is set on high and we have at least 2 fans in every room and one fan in the hallway.

So why do we have so many fans running? Since we run a swamp cooler through the Monsoon months, the fans are vital to keeping us cool while they dry off the sweat rolling down our backs. Oh my gosh, the other day I was leaning on my knees and started sliding, that's how humid it was in my house. Yuck!

Ah, but I digress.

Anyway, getting back to the laugh... With the fans shut off, I realized that the volume on the TV, radio and even our talking all needed to come down a bit to compensate for the "quieter" environment; which got me wondering whether people walking down the street or our neighbors can hear how loud we are during this time of year and if they think we are deaf.

I used to think it was odd that some people talk more loudly than others while in places where there is no noise to talk over. I'm sure you can relate and know a few people that talk too loud. Anyway, I just figured that they are partially deaf. On the flip side of that (and what I found to be funny/ironic), my co-workers sometimes struggle with me and tell me I'm talking too low. Anyway, it got me thinking, are they deaf or am I a low talker? I don't notice them talking too loud, but I never considered myself to be a low talker either. Maybe my rationale for loud talkers is all wrong... Could it be a sign of intelligence? As in loud talkers are less intelligent than low talkers, or vice versa? And those who neither talk loud nor low are of average intelligence?

Hmm, sometimes I wonder about the things I ponder.

What do you ever wonder and ponder about?

What happened on this day in history?

2010-08-01T10:13:00.004-07:00

I don't normally think along the lines of "what happened on this day in history", but like most people, when you here about stuff, I always listen. For some reason, I thought about it today, did a Google search and found an interesting website. I picked out a few things that happened on August 1st that meant something to me.

August 1, 1960: Aretha Franklin records four demos in New York City, which lead to a contract with Columbia Records.

Some of my favorite tunes by Aretha Franklin are:
Think
Respect
Freeway of Love
I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You)
Chain of Fools

August 1, 1982: Rock in a Hard Place is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith and was released in 1982. This is the only Aerosmith album to not feature Joe Perry. Perry had left in 1979 while Whitford left in 1981, during the recording of this album. Whitford is billed as an "additional musician" as he can be heard playing rhythm guitar on "Lightning Strikes." This was also Aerosmith's last studio album released on Columbia Records until 1997.

Some of my favorite Aerosmith tunes are:
Never Loved a Girl (same tune as above, slightly altered)
You Gotta Move
Toys in the Attic
Sweet Emotion
Walk this Way
Dream On

One last thing, that is too funny to pass up. On August 1, 2001: South Park Episode 507 - "Proper Condom Use". Thanks to Stan's "handy" work, the children of South Park must endure sex education from the unlikely duo of Mr. Mackey and Ms. Choksondik. While the two adults take their lessons to heart, the children are left frightened, mis-informed, and armed for battle against the opposite sex. Much hilarity ensues.

Recharging my batteries

2010-07-31T17:13:00.002-07:00

With the recent storms this week all due to the Monsoon season, our temps have been much lower and mornings have been down right cool. With that in mind, we were inspired to take a trip out to Boyce Thompson Arboretum this morning. We packed a picnic, grabbed the camera and headed out.

Below are some ominous looking clouds hovering over Superstition Mountain. Please click on the pictures to enlarge.

The temps were around 75 on the way to BTA. We enjoyed having all the windows and the sunroof open.

While driving along, we spotted a vapor trail which seemed odd since the clouds were so thick. As we pondered whether it really was a vapor trail, Conn spotted a plane coming out of the clouds and as we watched some more we saw the plane doing loop-d-loops. I just had to pull over and get a few shots.

What a total surprise it was to watch this guy flying around. We must have sat by the side of the road for about 15 minutes watching him have fun and it was a blast for us too. I could just imagine this being some guy and his son or grandson, both having the time of their lives doing loop-d-loops on a Saturday morning.

I updated my Hiking page with more pictures of BTA. Take a look, we found a few surprises there today too.

As days go, this one ranked right up there as a completely awesome day. August, here we come...

Cheers!!!

My Top 10 Favorite Things This Week

2010-07-30T21:29:00.007-07:00

TGIF!!! As promised, here are my top 10 favorite things to close out this past week. By the way, these are in order of occurrence rather than 1 being the least favorite and 10 being the most favorite.

1. Picking out pictures of my grandkids and great nieces and framing them to take to work. The experience was mixed with varying emotions, but ultimately very gratifying.

2. Watching Alice in Wonderland again. Most brilliant Tim Burton movie yet.

3. Sitting in my pool and taking pictures of clouds floating by. Rather than say anything more, here are some of the pics.

4. Getting better at doing my job faster. My personal goal.

5. Saw 2 Smart Cars this week. Still squeal when I see them. They make me happy, laugh and smile.

6. OMG, I saw this totally HOT guy on a bicycle, aside from the helmet (not so hot). Anyway, he had his shirt off and he had the 6 pack abs going on. He was just sitting on his bike, waiting at the Kyrene Crossing light, posing ever so nicely for all of us. I'm surprised we didn't create a pile up on the road from rubber necking. Would have been worth it.

7. Coloring in my journal (A.I.W. inspired) while listening to the rain and thunder and nothing else. So peaceful.

8. Walking to and from work in the rain. Love the feel of rain in the summer and the smell of the desert foliage.

9. Watched a double decker bus with the British flag plastered on it driving by on the way to work. Totally random.

10. I received an awesome care package today from my sister. I now have 3 new pairs of Born shoes for work. Very sexy. A new Stampin’ Up catalog to drool over. An awesome card, see picture below. And, a new Tim Holtz die that I’ve been dying to get my hands on. No pun intended.

Hope everyone had a great week. I have to say that looking for 10 things was fun, it kept my mind focused on the positives. It wasn’t hard, in fact paring the list down to 10 was the hardest part.

Cheers!!!

Into the Mystic

2010-07-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

“The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man. To know that what is impenetrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sentiment. In this sense, and in this sense alone, I rank myself among profoundly religious men.” Albert Einstein

The last hurrah

2010-07-16T17:41:00.002-07:00

Here are the last pictures I will post of my beautiful Sunflower. The bloom held up well to the onslaught of hot temps that hovered around 115 degrees.

Fare thee well.

You get what you put out there

2010-07-16T17:32:00.001-07:00

How funny (as in surreal) it is to find myself here in this space of time. Most anyone who knows me, knows that I truly believe there is something to be said for putting positive thoughts out into the Universe. There is just something about expending positive energies and having it coming back to me that I can dig.

I have been putting my thoughts about working for a wonderful company, with wonderful, happy, upbeat people for something close to 3 years. All due to the inspiration of a dream I had on my first night of vacation, that imprinted a vision of me permanently on my brain. In my dream, I was so happy with my job that I was crying, tears of happiness. Two things spoke to me about this dream. One, that being in a positive, happy environment is apparently important to me. If I am dreaming with emotion, it’s really important. And two, this dream needed to become my goal.

I will digress briefly here to say that what now seems like an eternity ago (thank God), I wrote my 3rd post for this blog. In that post, I recorded my thoughts on being laid off and how I looked at the layoff as a blessing. The blessing was that I was finally done with that tired, old, negative place and its negative people.

I wrote about choosing to let go of all the negative energies that I endured for too many years and instead fostering the happy energy I have knowing that I am free from that environment. I also wrote about my hope and desire to find a position with a company that truly fosters a happy and nurturing environment was right around the corner.

I am happy to say in this post, that I am crying those tears now. I love working for this company, the work is fun, challenging, and the people are really great. I went to a company wide meeting yesterday and the people there were so nice, upbeat and positive. And gosh darn it, I like them. A lot!!! The overall environment is friendly and fun. Today was our last day in the office where I have been working, we are all moving to another location where we will be part of a much bigger team. After lunch, someone passed out those foam stress balls and everyone started having fun throwing balls at each other. Even the managers joined in the fun and mixed it up with everyone else. Everyone was having so much fun. Okay, so I think I used the word “fun” several times now to describe my work and workplace.

I guess where I am going with this little revisit of sorts is that I found that place where I am so happy that I cry those tears of happiness. And it is my utmost desire, and goal, to maintain this new aspect of my life and let it spill over into the rest of my life. I will guard it, nurture it and always appreciate it.

When I ended that post from an eternity ago, I ended it with a toast. I think it speaks well to the place where I am at today.

Here is to a fantastically happy future for myself. One that is free from unnecessary stress. Here is to my health and happiness!!!!

“Keep your thoughts directed at whatever you desire in life. Everything else is just a waste of energy.” Unknown.

Cheers All!!!

Day 5

2010-07-13T17:49:00.002-07:00

Okay, I love Sunflowers, but this baby is still going strong. With that said, I think I'm going to stop taking daily pictures because this thing seems to going on and on and on. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of my Sunflower on Day 5 of it's bloom.

The Chronicles of a Sunflower, Day 4

2010-07-12T17:59:00.002-07:00

Day 4 in the Chronicles of a Sunflower. There is a little more change today.

Funny, I can tell that I snapped this while still blury eyed this morning, it's not centered.

This is going to be a test of my dedication. Hmm, I wonder how long this will go on.

The Chronicles of a Sunflower, Day 3

2010-07-11T10:54:00.001-07:00

Here is day 3. The lighting this morning was completely different, clear sky, direct sun.

I wonder how many days I will be able to catalog the Sunflower's bloom?

The Chronicles of a Sunflower

2010-07-10T08:22:00.003-07:00

My garden of summer flowering plants did not take off the way I hoped, at least for those in the planter. All of the Zinnia seedlings disappeared practically overnight. The Vincas dried up in the first week of 110 degree temps. The exceptions are the Moss Roses and the grass, both are hanging strong.

Out of all the Sunflowers I planted, only 3 came to bloom. The upside is that the largest blooming Sunflower is the last to bloom. When I got home from work last night and saw that it was opening, I thought that at least the best was saved for last. It was that which inspired me to use my camera and chronicle the stages.

In this first picture, you can see that most of the pedals have opened. You can still see Nature's mandala in the center.

This second picture, literally taken overnight, shows all the pedals are open and the mandala is shrinking while all the little stamens are opening. The bees are at work... They are so small. Click to enlarge.

More pictures to come.

Happy Independence Day!!

2010-07-04T14:15:00.006-07:00

Independence Day, July 4th, 2010, has been such a nice day. Conn and I got up early this morning and arrived at BTA at 8 a.m., hiking around and taking pictures for the morning. We had the park nearly to ourselves. Those who we did come across seemed to have the same mindset, enjoying our great luck that the park was empty and lots of photo opportunities.

I must say that I had no expectations of finding much to photograph given we are in the middle of summer but I was totally surprised by all the activity we did see, like tons and tons of butterflies, jack rabbits, lizards, a snake, buzzards, a crane, turtles and dragonflies. There were plenty of flowering plants to snap and of course the scenery. The scenery is amazing at any time of the year.

There is something very magical that happens every time we go to BTA. It is one of the most special places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Like Arizona with it’s many geographical differences, BTA seems to mirror that characteristic in it’s own way.

I updated my Hiking page if you would like to see more pictures from our trip.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Yin Yang

2010-06-24T18:16:00.004-07:00

Lately, I continue to find myself in moments of utter happiness. I will describe it as a feeling where I suddenly realize that in this specific moment I am very happy. It is like a light switch going on, realizing that everything is fine, good and feels right in my world.

I contribute part of this state of mind and being to new employment which naturally has taken a certain amount of burden off my shoulders. I also contribute some other factors, like that I'm finally living a larger portion of my days free from "drama" which I will contribute to living Rumi's saying, "Be with those who help your being".

This adage has been a favorite of mine for years and years, but it is finally becoming the main stay, the philosophy of which I wish to live my life.

We all know that life has its ups and downs, and it can be really difficult to find happiness during the down times. However, the older I get I find that going through those down times seems to make those up times all the sweeter. From there, I guess I could also say that I am finding some lessons in how I want to live my life.
To me it's all Yin Yang. Wikipedia says, “Yin yang constantly interacts, never existing in absolute stasis.” How very true.

Hotter Than Blazes

2010-06-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

This picture popped up on my screen saver today and it looked so nice, cool and refreshing on this 117 degree day here in Phoenix. Yes, it feels just like an oven. The picture was taken at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

I can't wait for the Fall when the temps get low enough so that I can start going to BTA once again. Until then, I guess I will just be content to look at my pictures.

Have a great day everyone!!

But wait, there's more...

2010-06-19T12:43:00.001-07:00

In doing some cleanup of my pictures, I came across some additional garden pictures which I meant to post last week. Oh well, they are posted now.

I love the variegation of this Geranium

Look on the leaf that is sitting just over the top of the hose. It's a baby Pray Mantis.

I believe that seeing a Pray Mantis brings good fortune. This is the second one I spotted so far this summer. Good fortune is coming my way!!

The new job is going great...

2010-06-19T09:37:00.001-07:00

There is so much stuff I am learning that my head swims most of the time, but we have been assured and reassured that this is normal and that it can take a few months before it all really clicks. In the meantime, everyone is very patient. I am truly amazed by how nice everyone is at this place and I feel extremely lucky and blessed to be there.

I could almost cry by what a relief it is to be working at this company.

Little Summer Flowers

2010-06-19T08:53:00.047-07:00

It's been a while since I posted anything from my garden so I took the camera and shot some new pictures.

These are Moss Roses. These flowers are maybe the size of a quarter so I shot them with the micro setting on my camera and then cropped them. They are pretty little things.

My hanging baskets are doing great with Moss Roses and Vincas.

I wasn't sure how a Coleus would handle the summer heat, but it's doing great here under the porch in the pot below. Thanks Cathy for helping me pick it out.

A couple of my Sunflowers are already developing heads. I can't wait to see how they look when they open.

The potted plant below is a Cyclamen left over from last winter. I am amazed that this plant is thriving in the heat. It continues to leaf out. I doubt it will bloom until winter but we'll see. For now it is an experiment to see if it will continue to develop until next winter.

Wishing everyone a fantastically rosey weekend!!

Life is but a journey

2010-06-14T17:20:00.003-07:00

My reflections lately seem to come back to one thing and that is we are all on a journey when we live our lives. At times we are on the journey together and at times we are on the journey by ourselves. It is the journey that brings people together and forms either general acquaintances or friendships. It is while we are on the journey that forms and tests our character.

Here are some quotes that reflect my thoughts on what “Journey” means to me at this point in my life.

“Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will-whatever we may think.” Lawrence Durrell

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams Jr.

“A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles” Tim Cahill

“Journeys end in lovers' meeting; every wise man's son doth know.” William Shakespeare

“Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.” Alex Noble

“To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.” Chinese Proverb

Dear Diary

2010-06-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day at my new job and I think I'm really going to like it…

On our first day, we sat with experienced Quoting Specialists during the morning so we could observe how they perform their job. Then due to off site manager meetings, our new Manager's opted to have us work a partial day. Since they are paying us for a full day and I didn’t sleep at all last night (I guess I was keyed up) it worked out well for me so that I could go home and take a nap.

We will be working 7 hour days for the remainder of this week and all of next week while we are going through training. We were all warned that tomorrow through Thursday the training will be jammed packed and our brains will be thoroughly expanded. They are providing us lunch over these 3 days which is really nice of them.

The Quoting Specialist that I sat with this morning has worked at this company for 5 months. She told me that this group is really nice to work with and she is very happy at this job. Considering how much import they placed on finding the right person for this team was in all 3 interviews, I truly felt that the atmosphere would not be something to worry about. Having said that, I guess I was still worrying a bit so I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear this first hand from someone else in my position.

So, even though I only worked a partial day on my first day, I can already tell that there is so much to learn and that there will be challenges which they forewarned me about. Boredom will not be part of my daily routine whatsoever and that is terrific.

It is refreshing to be on this side of a job where people love working for their employer and the employer treats their people well. It’s a wonderful place to find myself at this next stage of my work life.

Martha Stewart Dutch Oven

2010-06-13T17:12:00.004-07:00

I have to show off my latest kitchen purchase. It’s a Martha Stewart 5.5 quart enamel cast iron round casserole. I would say that it’s more like a Dutch oven, but who am I to argue with the Queen herself.

The other day at Macy’s, I was on my way to the down escalator when I came face to face with a 50% sale on these babies. That is a mega deal because they are really expensive cookware. I have wanted one of these probably ever since I began watching Martha Stewart years ago. I could never justify the expense because as most of you know, I don’t spend a lot of time cooking. But with 50% off, I figured I could go ahead and get what I wanted. Now I can cook my roasts in a pan with a lid that fits.

Pictured here is a roast with onion and bell peppers slow cooking over low heat for approximately 3 - 4 hours. The recipe: Season any boneless roast (not prime rib) with pepper and Mrs. Dash. Add chopped bell peppers (1 green and 2 red), a chopped white onion, add enough water to reach the top of the roast and cook over low heat. Check periodically to be sure the roast does not dry out. Typically, after a few hours, the water will begin to cook off fast, add more water as needed to keep from drying out. I usually add 1 cup and let that cook down, adding more as necessary until the meat, onion and pepper mix begins to caramelize on the bottom. The meat should also be shredding fairly well. Serve with potatoes and salad or your favorite sides.

Simple and bursting with flavor.

Shoe crazed

2010-06-12T18:59:00.005-07:00

Look at my fun new summer work shoes.

Aren't they cute?

I hit a fantastic sale at Macy's this weekend. Every pair of these shoes was on sale and if I bought 3 or more pairs, I got an additional 30% off. Yippie!!

Good thing I shaved this morning.

Okay, this last pair are just for fun, not for work. I will have 'blingy' feet when I do my grocery shopping.

Yeah, I know, if you click on this picture, you can see some dust on the shoe. That's cause I wore these out of the store and then to do some other shopping. What can I say, they were so much fun to wear.

Happy days are here again...

2010-06-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

...The skies above are clear again. So let's sing a song of cheer again. Happy days are here again!!!

“Praise be, praise be”, I got a job. I am thrilled, ecstatic, elated, jumping up and down, uh….howling at the sun, uh….just really, really, really happy!!! Oh and Chicago won the Stanley Cup!!

I have some stuff I need to do for this job in the morning and I will be starting next week. After I’m done, I think I will have a little celebratory shopping trip over to Chandler Mall so I have more than 3 professional outfits to wear to work.

There is something else that I would like to share about this job because it is amazing to me how things work out. The employers were stressing to me, throughout several interviews, how important it is to them that they hire someone who wants to be part of their team, who contributes to the team and who can think of them as family. It dawned on me that these are the characteristics of what I wanted in a job that I put out into the universe over and over again well before my last job ended. Pushing aside my reasons, this was a really big deal to me for probably the last 2 years. So now it appears that I am getting what I wanted. I am hopeful that I found my place, my work home, my positive and nurturing environment.

Have you put something out into the universe lately? If not, here is your opportunity to share what you want; as a job, in life, in relationships, etc.

Breakin from Bloggin

2010-06-08T15:20:00.002-07:00

Just wanting to let all my blog readers and fellow bloggers know that I am really concentrating on finding gainful employment so my posts are likely to be sporadic at best. I wish I had more time in a day to blog about stuff but then I think if I did, it would likely be filled with too much negative chatter and let's face it, that would be in conflict with the sunnier happier side of myself that I share on my blog. However, I will sum it up as a painfully slow process.

Since I am devoting my full time and attention to job searching, I decided that I should have a new job title, Unemployed Job Searcher. Whatcha think?? What other title can you think of?

Oh and just so you know where I'll be, hunting during the week and in the pool on the weekends.

May this summer bless us with finding jobs, wonderful opportunities and many other good things!!!

Toodles!

The Ah! Factor

2010-05-31T08:28:00.001-07:00

Ah!!!

Relaxing just doesn't get any better than spending a hot day in the water sipping on a slushy Margarita. Add some music and a magazine and you have the Ah! Factor.

Playing with the Macro Setting

2010-05-30T10:25:00.001-07:00

Last week while exploring the Gilbert Riparian Park with my friend Cathy, she showed me how to use the Macro setting on my camera for better close ups. This morning I was inspired to play around with this setting by taking a couple of pictures of the new plants in my garden that are in bloom.

Here are a few other shots of new plants that were not using the Macro setting.

Hopefully these plants will last throughout most of the summer, bringing cheer with their sunny faces.

Looking for inspiration

2010-05-27T16:39:00.001-07:00

For some reason I’m not feeling very inspired lately to create, cook or exercise. I keep looking for inspiration in my usual ways and I’m starting to wonder if the heat is zapping it away.

With temps bordering at the 100 degree mark this Memorial Day weekend, I think my weekend is going to be all about staying cool. The perfect way to spend time on hot days is in the water so I think I just might spend some time floating and contemplating blue sky. Maybe while I am at it, I will be inspired to get motivated or maybe I will let my thoughts of being productive float away along with the passing clouds.

However you choose to spend your time this holiday weekend, I hope you have some fun contemplating inspiration. If you do, please share it with me. I would love to hear all about it.

“Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.” John Updike

Happy Memorial Day!!!

Riparian Adventure

2010-05-26T18:11:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I went to the Gilbert Riparian Park. This was my first visit. It is a nice sized park with walking trails that intertwine throughout several ponds.

Here are a few pictures of the water foul we saw.

A nice oasis in the middle of the city, in the middle of the desert.

Gone but soon to be replaced

2010-05-24T15:09:00.012-07:00

The cool weather plants I enjoyed from Fall through Spring are sadly gone now, but thanks to the latest weather "cool down" we enjoyed today, I was able to head out into the garden and remove all the grass and dead plants from the planter and the pots.

The Sunflowers and Morning Glories that I planted several weeks ago are working their way up in the planter. I plan to put in Zinnia seeds later today. Perhaps I will add in Vinca Rosea and more Iceplant too. Sounds like a trip to Home Depot so it many not end with just these plants going into the ground.

The pots that were once overflowing with Violas and Stock are nearly empty. There is 1 lone Stock plant still in the pot with the Lemon Tree. Earlier in the Spring, as an experiment, I prunned the Stock way back because it became too leggy. They rebounded and bloomed all over again. With the really hot temps we had over the past few weeks, it is amazing that this plant still looks good.

My Mexican Bird of Paradise is looking really good. It underwent a major prunning this past winter and I am very happy to see that it is already blooming.

Don't you think the blossoms are outstandingly pretty?

“The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,though to itself it only live and die.” William Shakespeare

Ode to my friends and Lili Von Shtupp

2010-05-23T12:24:00.005-07:00

After a great night of good friends, good food and good wine, and only 2 1/2 hours of sleep, I found myself in a somewhat hungover stupor, entertaining myself with the Lili Von Shtupp song from Blazing Saddles. Let me preface by saying that this song began playing in my head because I was wandering around my house saying, "I'm tired". Hense the inspiration for the song. So, without further adieu...

Here I stand, the goddess of desire. Set men on fire. I have this power. Morning, noon, and night, it's dwink and dancing. Some quick womancing. And then a shower. Stage door Johnnies constantly suwwound me. They always hound me, with one wequest. Who can satisfy their lustful habits? I'm not a wabbit. I need some west.

I'm tired, sick and tired of love. I've had my fill of love, from below and above. Tired. Tired of being admired. Tired of love uninspired. Let's face it, I'm tired!

I've been with thousands of men, again and again, they pwomise the moon. They're always coming and going and going and coming... and always too soon.

Right, girls?

I'm tired, tired of playing the game. Ain't it a crying shame, I'm so tired.

God Dam it, I'm exhausted!

Tired, tired of playing the game, ain't it a crying shame. I'm so tired.

I've been with thousands of men, again and again, they sing the same tune. They start with Bywon and Shelley then jump on your belly and bust your balloon. Tired. Tired of playing the game. Ain't it a fwiggin shame. I'm so... let's face it, evewything below the waste is kaput!

Thanks to Donna, Cathy and Susan for a really great evening gals!! I can't wait for all of us to be together.

Surprise, surprise, surprise???

2010-05-19T10:46:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while, I get a good horoscope and today's was right up there...

"You're not easy to surprise, and most people know it. You've heard it all, memorized a good chunk of it and read up on the rest. At the moment, though, the universe has arranged a big surprise for you -- and not only are you unable to see it coming, you're also caught totally off guard when it arrives. The good news is that this surprise should be wonderful. make sure you're prepared for anything!"

I'm not the typical person who appreciates surprises, but after reading this horoscope, I thought what the heck, I can definitely use a "wonderful" surprise. So here I am, posting this horoscope as a way of putting this wish back out into the universe.

Universe, I am totally ready for my big surprise!! Maybe it will be that wonderful job I dreamt of those many, many months ago, where I cried tears of happiness because I was so happy with my job.

Naturally I will post whatever surprise I get, as soon as it happens. In the meantime, I'm thinking positive thoughts.

Has anyone seen my marbles??

2010-05-19T09:34:00.004-07:00

Is it obvious that I was enamored with this little boat of marbles? As a child I loved playing with marbles and I think it was more because I was drawn to the designs in the glass than the game itself.

In 2008, we attended the Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden, see my Chihuly page for more pictures of this amazing exhibit.

If only I could have that boat of marbles...

How I spent Saturday

2010-05-16T16:41:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, I went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum with a friend. We had a wonderful time enjoying each other's company, spotting wildlife and taking in nature's latest pallet of color.

There are a few more pictures added to the bottom of my Hiking page.

New in the Garden

2010-05-13T12:38:00.003-07:00

The iceplant cometh.

Last blooms on an old Morning Glory vine.

New Morning Glory vine, about 4 inches tall with a very large bloom.

I found all of these lovely blooms in the garden this morning. I am inspired to spend time later today and over this weekend, pulling grass and dead plants so that I can put in the summer plants.

Strange goings on

2010-05-13T12:25:00.004-07:00

I had the strangest experience today that once again causes me to ponder psychic phenomenon or possible severe mental issues. Before I launch into today, let me begin by going back a couple of days. While sleeping Tuesday night, I had this face flash into my mind, causing me to wake up with a jolt. The face was very clear in my mind, but it didn’t belong to anyone I knew. The key features were that he was looking at me, smiling (big smile like maybe he was laughing) with dark eyes and dark hair. I thought it was odd that this would wake me up but maybe that was because the face was so immediately in my head, out of the blue, not part of another dream. After several minutes of pondering whether I could have seen this man at work or on TV or somewhere else, I gave up and forgot about it.

Back to today, I had a consult this morning with a specialist about some dental pain I have been having for the past month. The first thing the doctor said to me was have we met somewhere before? I was still a little sleepy and was only thinking about what this guy might find in my mouth so I looked up at him, looked him over a bit and said, “no I don’t think so”. He was pondering how we might have met and so I said were you around the last time I came into that office which was around 8 years ago? I was there for a root canal performed by another doctor. He said he probably was there. I didn’t point out that 8 years is a long time to remember someone who we might have glanced at as passersby. I get a lot of people asking whether we have met before and for some reason I didn’t want to ponder this, rather, I wanted to chalk it up to one of my many doppelgangers. Within possibly 1 minute of thinking that, it was like the fog lifted and I clearly saw the face of the man in my dream again and felt a distinct, crystal clear realization that this was that man.

Thereafter, the entire time spent at my appointment felt strangely surreal. I felt nervous and I’m not normally nervous due to all the time I’ve spent in their chairs. It was like I had something to hide or feeling exposed somehow.

I came home and did a quick search, and the man is very accomplished. Has impressive credentials, married and a child. Also, he is not from here so it’s not plausible that we’ve seen each other in that “it’s a small world” kind of way.

I don’t know what the heck this was about, but I am beginning to think I should go see a psychic. I have had other strange things happen in the past but this just doesn’t seem like a normal occurrence. Whatever it was, I felt chilled to the bone and still do.

I was joking about this being attributed to a possible mental issue. After all, I did have that time where I felt sick at work and over the morning, started having anxiety to the point where I knew I had to leave and leave then. While driving home, I happened to spot a guy sitting on some fencing that arches over a walkway that runs across a freeway below. The guy looked upset, like he was crying. I called the police and it was reported later that he had attempted suicide. That incident left me high strung for a while.

What are your thoughts? Does this sort of stuff happen to you?

Lyric excerpt that speaks to me

2010-05-12T19:09:00.001-07:00

And as we lie beneath the stars, we realize how small we are. If they could love like you and me, imagine what the world would be.

From Nickelback, If Everyone Cared

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Wishing all the mother's in my life a wonderful Mother's Day.

To just be

2010-05-01T12:16:00.003-07:00

I have given some thought to my state of mind today, particularly because I am procrastinating on my chores, errands and basically doing anything productive. Hmm?? Why am I not getting my arms length of stuff done instead of sitting in front of my computer for like the past 3 hours?

The need to relax can partly be explained due to getting back to work this week. I quickly discovered what a shock it was to the system it to go back to the working world. Getting up at 4 a.m. to do Yoga and work out, then working all day which has been very physical, then come home in time to make dinner, unwind and do it all over again. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be working, to be out of the house and hopefully on my way to creating a more realistic and normal life. It feels good and I feel energetic mentally, but at least initially it has also physically drained me. Still recovering from the meds for treating a "sinus infection" might explain some of it too.

In returning to this state of the "real" world, I am realizing that I need to find my purpose, my happy place, my yang to the yen of this new state, my upside. So I think that my taking this time to procrastinate for a bit today is about that. Putting a balance into my week, catching up on emails and Facebook before I set about on another busy day.

To just listen to my body. To just relax for a bit. To just breathe. To just be.

“Smile, breathe and go slowly” Thich Nhat Hanh

A bit of heaven

2010-04-27T08:29:00.001-07:00

To follow up to Monday's post, What's for dinner tonight?, the pulled pork with the southwestern rub cooked with the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce was perfect. I coupled the pork with Martha Stewart's Classic Creamy Coleslaw which was also perfect and will now be my go to recipe for slaw.

The pork had a wonderful 'earthy' flavor and had a nice hot zip to it. When it comes to pulled pork, the hotter the better and this was hot. Adding a bit of barbeque sauce enhanced the flavors into a nice blend of hot with a little sweet. The combination of dijon mustard and cider vinegar added to the mayo in the slaw works very nice together.

Combining a bit of the pork with a bit of the coleslaw on the fork was like a bit of heaven.

What's for dinner tonight?

2010-04-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

As summer is approaching, so are my cravings for the more traditional summer fare. Hamburgers, Hebrew National hot dogs, pulled pork, BBQ chicken, pasta salads, etc., are all rolling around in my brain like a slot machine.

Tonight, I am satisfying my craving for pulled pork. I found a nice looking pork loin roast with a little fat remaining at the market that looked perfect. I cut the roast into individual sized portions, then added a southwestern rub (below) to the meat and browned it in a skillet.

While the meat browned in a skillet, I added a can of chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce, a couple cans of water and some onions into a slow cooker. Next came the browned meat and all the browned bits from the skillet.

In addition to the pork I am making Martha Stewart’s Classic Creamy Coleslaw. I have never made this particular recipe for the pulled pork nor have I made the coleslaw. I will let you know how it all turns out but I think they will both be excellent.

The rub is made up of brown sugar, paprika, cayenne pepper, ancho chile pepper, cumin, coarse salt, and cocoa.

Bon appétit!!

Surprise!!

2010-04-25T17:36:00.002-07:00

As my weekend drew to an end, I went out to my backyard to do some much needed pruning and was pleasantly surprised to find a sunflower in bloom. Surprised because this sunflower is not from one of the seeds I planted a couple of weeks ago. Rather, the seed fell out of the bird feeder, which happens on occasion and is like an additional perk to all the pretty birds that visit our yard.

Maybe it's just me, but when I enlarged the picture (click on pic), I noticed a pattern in the center of the sunflower. This is a natural mandala that eventually will be sunflower seeds.

I love that Mother Nature gave me a surprise and is that beauty I found in today. What a nice way to end the weekend. Have a wonderful week!!

Home Economics = A+

2010-04-23T10:51:00.002-07:00

I am giving myself an A+ in Home Economics for the nearly orgasmic dinner I prepared last night. I made Hot and Sour soup to satisfy a craving I have had over the past week. I had take out last weekend that lasted for 3 meals, then again last night when I made it from a simple recipe out of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food cookbook.

In addition to the soup, I served Korean ribs and Bird’s Nests which are little veggie rings. Both are from Trader Joe's.

This meal was all about flavor and we will be having this combination again, and again. Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes…

Want to share your near orgasmic experiences with food? Please don’t get too “TMI” here and keep it relating to the experience of actually eating food.

Bon appétit!!

Late bloomers

2010-04-22T16:56:00.002-07:00

At last I have Sweet Peas blooming!!! After being in the house for a few days, I ventured outdoors yesterday to water my poor drying up plants. I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of my Sweet Pea vines had a pair of blooms. Yippee!!

I have been watching the vines and waiting impatiently since the Sweet Peas sprouted in late January. They were extremely slow to grow, but once the weather warmed up the vines started moving. Now with our temps in the mid to upper 80's I wonder whether they will survive long enough to fill the trellis. I guess I will leave it in Mother Nature's hands and simply enjoy what she gives me from my first Sweet Peas in many years.

More buds appear to be on the verge of opening within the next couple of days and I am looking forward to sharing pictures of them here.

Finding beauty in the day

2010-04-20T09:24:00.002-07:00

I was just thinking to myself that some days it can be extra difficult to find the beauty in a day when up popped a picture of a blooming Lilac Vine on my screen saver. Silly as it might sound, for me this was one of those ah-ha moments where finding something beautiful was easier than I imagined and didn't require my going out to find something new or find something in a dimensional form.

I took this picture at Boyce Thompson Arboretum a couple of years ago. I love the vivid color of the blooms.

As we are approaching the warmer part of spring and the eventual onslaught of an Arizona summer, sadly most of my plants that I have featured many times on my blog are fading and will die out soon. Until next Fall when the blooming season begins, I can thankfully draw upon the ton of pictures I have to help me find the beauty in each day.

Don't you just love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils?

2010-04-19T17:13:00.009-07:00

Over the last few days, I have been working in my Art Journal where the pages I am working on are currently serving as a coloring book. Whenever I am in the mood to color colored pencils are my medium of choice. I love to color for a number of reasons, I love the rich color of the medium and I also love that it gets me into that Zen like state quicker than anything else. Anyway, to get into those tight little detailed spaces, I have been sharpening my colored pencils like crazy and for the past few mornings when I walk into my craft room I am hit with a wonderful smell of freshly sharpened pencils.

Hopefully this is relatable, but for me, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils reminds me of going back to school where in every classroom there was a pencil sharpener mounted to the wall that I frequently used (can’t stand dull points). This smell also makes me want to watch one of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail because it reminds me of one of my favorite dialogs from the movie. The scene is an email conversation between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s characters that takes place at the beginning of the movie. They are having a “secret / anonymous” online relationship and Tom’s character, NY152 emails to Meg’s character, Shopgirl (their online handles) about how New York in the fall makes him want to buy school supplies and that if he knew her real name and address, he would send her a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.

I love this movie on so many levels, and I love this dialog because I totally get the reference. I have many sensory triggers about fall and going back to school myself. Like the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the smell of books and more subtle triggers like the sun angles at the beginning of September. Sometimes I get so caught up from these triggers that I want to run out and buy school supplies, new clothes and shoes just for the heck of it.

On an emotional level, I am reminded by these sensory triggers and what I see as the subtle message in You’ve Got Mail is more about how remembrances provide us an important emotional connection to the past and can even serve as a bridge to our future. Acknowledging honor and what is true in memories that for some, is sadness or longing and for others is comfort.

If you would like to share what triggers memories for you, I would love to hear them. Or if you know the movie and want to share your favorite scene or dialog that would be great too.

For me, I think I will continue to find things to color for a while and let myself get filled up with my memories.

More hiking fun

2010-04-12T17:26:00.002-07:00

This past weekend, I had more hiking fun with trips to Usery Mountain Regional Park's Wind Cave and to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. My friend Cathy and I hiked up to the Wind Cave on Saturday. She was wonderfully patient with me as it took me a while to make it to our destination. Many thanks Cathy!!

On Sunday, my husband and I headed for Boyce Thompson Arboretum to have more outdoor fun. We checked out all the latest spring blooms and enjoyed a nice picnic. The weather was simply perfect and my husband got to ride his bike too.

Spending the weekend on trails is my version of a perfect weekend. To view all my pictures, click on my Hiking page.

Past tense and future lessons

2010-04-09T17:22:00.006-07:00

This past week, I began the process of job searching and interviewing. I had postponed beginning the hunt long enough and wanted to get busy so I could brush up on my interviewing skills. After all, interviewing is more of an art in communication than focusing on qualifications.

I found a position online that had appeal and ended up forcing myself to finish what turned out to be an arduous application process. I wanted to quit a few times but stuck it out because I hate to quit and ended up getting two days of interviews out of it. Once the interviewing concluded on Wednesday, they said that I would hear from them, so naturally I found myself waiting and waiting.

After two and a half days of getting stressed over waiting, this morning it finally dawned on me that I needed to give myself a break. I reminded myself of what I initially set out to do. I met those goals and they paid off. I know what you’re thinking, how can there be a pay off when I didn’t get the job? Well, the pay off is that I gathered more information which I may need to have for future applications. I was in fact reminded that interviewing is all about communication and presentation. And finally, never, ever expect them to actually follow up with you unless they are offering you the job.

In this instance, there was no failure in not being offered a job. Rather, the failure would have been if I had given up or did not learn from the experience. Once I reminded myself of these things, I felt the burden lift and the knot left my stomach. Oh and because I tend to carry stress in my stomach, some breathing through my chakras helped too.

Inspiration and The Rolling Stones??

2010-03-28T13:23:00.004-07:00

This past week I blogged about big differences I noticed in myself between two days earlier in the week. One day was all rainy and gloomy and the next day was all sunshine without any clouds in site. The inspiration I found in how good the sun made me feel then is still going strong today, granted there have been no cloudy days since.

I decided that I shouldn’t let my sun inspired inspirations go to waste so I set to work on a couple of sun themed projects. My first project was to plant sunflower seeds recently purchased from my last visit to Home Depot’s lawn and garden center. Sunflowers are great plants that help stimulate nature. They entice bees into the garden which is a good thing because bees pollinate other plants giving more plants the ability to pollinate and bloom. Sunflowers also attract birds into the yard to snack on their seeds which is also good because birds help keep the mosquito population down which is important to me. Aside from these benefits, sunflowers are fantastically cheery.

My other sun themed project took me into my art journal. Over the years I purchased many rubber stamps depicting the sun. I pulled out several that I wanted to use, turned on some Rolling Stones, made some tea and set to work on my pages. Have I mentioned before how listening to The Rolling Stones while crafting takes me to a Zen like place?

If you are wondering why the sun in the center of the right page looks blurred it’s because it was intended to look that way. Sometimes when there is a lot of permanent ink built up on the rubber; I will twist the stamp on scratch paper to help remove the build up. While doing that with this stamp, I thought the effect was kind of cool, sort of like it added movement to an otherwise still image.

I love that I found inspiration from the sun to feel better, garden, create some art, and just be in nature this week. I would love to hear what inspires you; whether it’s crafting, getting through a day, decides your reading choice, decides your travels, etc.

Cheers!!

“You've got the sun, you've got the moon, and you've got the Rolling Stones.” Keith Richards

The Sun returned today

2010-03-24T10:24:00.004-07:00

Fantastic! The Sun is back out today and returning with it are my cheer, inspiration and an overall sense of wellbeing. I am amazed at how different I feel between yesterday and today. Yesterday was gray and rainy and left me feeling achy like I was coming down with a cold. And today, the Sun is out and all the aches and cold symptoms appear to be gone.

Living in the ‘Valley of the Sun’ as I have forever, I was never aware of any differences in myself between sunny and cloudy days. I am not sure why I am now, but I guess for one thing, it’s Arizona and it’s not very often that the sun isn’t shining. So when I woke up this morning to the sun peeking through my blinds, I was instantly inspired to do something today that connected me to this wonder.

While still in pj’s, I began my day photographing how the morning sun was playing off the flowers in my backyard. Lately, capturing the morning sun on flora, whether in my backyard or on some trail, has become a passion for me. There is something magical about the early sun as it lights upon the earth that just fascinates me.

With the Sun’s life sustaining power and the affect it has on me, I can understand why civilizations have and still do worship the Sun and their Solar Deities, like the Roman Sol Invictus, the Germanic Sol, and the Egyptian Ra and so on. Even in Yoga there are a combination of poses that when combined together are referred to as Sun Salutations. Hmm, I think I will do some Yoga in the back yard this morning as my personal salutation to the Sun.

Whatever you are at today, may the sun shine on you and warm your heart.

“The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see the results of that love.” Sitting Bull

One breath at a time

2010-03-15T18:26:00.033-07:00

As a kid, I never cared much for strenuous exercise in school, nor did I have any particular athletic ability. I played badminton and volleyball, but anything that required deep breathing was hard and painful to do. I blame terrible allergies that I had as a child and believe that it affected my lung capacity. Strenuous meant having a difficult time breathing so I avoided it. I was physically able to ride my bicycle all over town and skate up and down the street for hours, but throw me in a P.E. class and I just gave up.

As I got older, I discovered that I really liked to go hiking and do outdoor things, but I still found it difficult to catch my breath going up an incline. I thought the only way to improve this problem would be to dedicate myself to strenuous workouts. I found slight improvements when I consistently worked out, but not enough to keep me motivated and so my workouts became sporadic. Like most people as they get older, I realized that this wasn’t going to get any better and in fact I was beginning to see signs of lost mobility. I was also falling because my balance was bad. It was then that I decided I needed to do something that I would like doing and that something was Yoga.

I remember that even as a child Yoga held a fascination for me. I remember watching our local PBS station and thinking that while the lady in the leotard looked a little like an old hippie, her movements and her energy were calming to watch and reminded me of watching the movement of water in a stream.

I bought a book on Yoga and found other resources in self-improvement magazines like Prevention and Body and Soul, and began doing a 20 to 30 minute routine. When consistently practiced I found that my balance and mobility were getting better, but like all my previous attempts at working out, I found that my devotion to Yoga was also sporadic. Unlike working out, I knew that there was something about Yoga that I really missed when I didn’t take time to practice.

While currently in between jobs, I took the opportunity of extra time on my hands and I decided I would dive back into Yoga. Over the past two months I was able to improve in my previous routine and increase the number of poses. Also, Yoga has taken a more meaningful, spiritual presence in my life. I find so much peace through the meditation of my movements and my breathing that it has now become a necessity in my daily routine. I am now up to 60 to 75 minutes and usually practice 4 days each week. I find that on the days when I don’t practice, I am missing it. Aside from these qualities, I am also finding that when hiking, my balance on the trail is much better and I have increased my lung capacity so it is easier to hike up those inclines. I also find that my regular workouts are getting better because I have increased the oxygen in my muscles making it easier for them to move.

Some other great resources I found are on the Yoga Journal website. They have a wonderful resource of Yoga poses, providing detailed instructions and even some video. They also have a very cool tool were I could build my Yoga sequence and print it off. This will serve as a great reminder, especially with the new poses.

I am thrilled that I have been able to dedicate this much of my time to Yoga. In doing so, I now know that when I skip a day of practice I am missing out on the added peace and calmness it provides me. Yoga will be part of my daily life just as air, food, exercise and sleep are a part of life.

“Some perceive God in the heart by the intellect through meditation; others by the yoga of knowledge; and others by the yoga of work (or Karma-yoga).” Bhagavad Gita

Spring time in the house

2010-03-14T19:06:00.003-07:00

These are the latest flowers for the house shown here with a beautiful glass piece made by my friend Donna.

Taking time for tea

2010-03-14T16:30:00.004-07:00

Recently, we discovered this wonderful Korean Tea House in town called Born, Green Tea and Beyond. They have a wonderful variety of loose teas and a simplistic formality to serving it that completely took me in.

First you select which tea you want to try. Then find a spot to relax and enjoy the process. The tea and its accoutrements are brought out on individual trays. Each tray has its own tea pot, strainer, pitcher and cup. Loose tea is added to the tea pot, then they pour in hot water. After it steeps for a couple of minutes, they pour the tea through the strainer into the pitcher and then they pour it into your cup.

There is something so peaceful and serene in watching this process unfold and because of that, I naturally wanted to bring the experience home. After investing in all the necessary paraphernalia, this process has become part of my daily routine. I found that there are two mindsets to making tea. You can simply make a cup of tea and go about your business, or you can make time for tea. Both are satisfying in their own way, but my preference is to make time for tea. In doing so, I find that bit of peace and serenity, taking time to relax the stresses of the day.

I take this tray of tea into my office, or out on the patio with a book. It's a wonderful way to relax.

My favorite tea is Chrysanthemum. Yum!!

Field of Dreams

2010-03-14T14:51:00.011-07:00

After I finished my 'Fly' project, I was feeling a little lost. I knew I wanted to keep my creative juices flowing, but I didn’t have any ideas in mind for another project.

As it turned out, when I purchased the canvas for Fly, I had also purchased a large jar of Gesso. When I got home I discovered that the canvas was already covered in Gesso and then I found my old jar of the stuff. Since I had been feeling like I wasted money, an inspirational spark fired and I thought I should get busy covering things with all this Gesso. I found my stash of old children’s board books and some cool chipboard pieces that I purchased several years ago and I covered them.

Maybe it was the meditative like state I was in while covering these items or my own version of Field of Dreams, but I began to develop some ideas on how I wanted to alter them. I went through my stamps and several themes began jumping out at me with their possibilities.

I am thrilled that all it took to find inspiration was to start covering stuff and the ideas came through the corn field. There is a moral in this for sure. Hmm??

Check back for how these pieces turn out and for other possible revelations that might walk out of the corn field.

Cheers!!

Shall we fly?

2010-03-07T16:46:00.008-07:00

My inspiration this past week came in the form of an assemblage project. I chose Fly as my theme which is symbolic for this period in my life.

This first photo is the layout of materials I picked to use resting on top of a 12x12 canvas that I painted and stamped earlier in the week. I used a variety of Golden Acrylics for the background and Memories black ink for the stamped corners. I then applied a Tea Dyed varnish over the canvas to seal it. The paper images are from various companies.

This next picture is after I grunged up the graphics a bit, glued them in place, applied beeswax and added some of the dimensional objects.

I never used beeswax before and I had a blast. It took about 90 minutes to apply it using my Melting Pot and tiny long handled iron.

This last picture is the final product with the addition of a dimensional birds nest at the bottom of the piece. Now to find a place to hang it...

Flowers for the house

2010-02-23T16:46:00.002-07:00

I picked out these flowers at my local Safeway last week. The alstroemerias are finally opening. What a pretty picture.

Check out my art journal

2010-02-21T17:53:00.007-07:00

I never kept a journal or diary in my life but over the past few years I found myself gravitating towards journaling. So why now? If I analyze this I would say that given life’s circumstances that it is becoming important for me to have a creative outlet where I can express myself. This blog is very much evident of that need as is my art journal.

I have been working on my art journal off and on for a couple of years. It is a place where I can take or find my inspiration, take out frustrations or let it all hang out.

I invite you to take a peek inside...

My Art Journal

Rated R for Language, Adult Content and Nudity.

Cheers!

Here comes the rain again

2010-02-21T09:01:00.001-07:00

Let the rain fall down and cleanse us all. Let it wash away our sorrows and ease our souls with it’s textured sound. So when the rains come, let us remember that it’s natures way of lovingly easing away the things that weigh us down.

February Crafting

2010-02-15T10:43:00.016-07:00

Inspiration arrived just in time last week and I found myself enthusiastically making Valentines and Paper Tag Dolls for family. It was so much fun planning the designs and I loved playing around with the wonderful papers. I especially loved playing with the Sizzix BIGkick using my dies and texture plates. The flowers on the card and also around the faces on the paper tag dolls are from the Sizzix Spring Flower Set sold by Stampin’ Up. The strip of pink paper behind the green stem ribbon on the card is embossed using the Sizzix True Love Texture Plates. Click on the photo to enlarge and see the embossed images.

I made the Valentine cards first and while I was cutting the flowers I thought they would also work well layered behind paper doll faces. For a while now I wanted to make some paper dolls for my Grand Nieces, Natalie and Naomi, so I decided to use this inspiration and made them the paper tag dolls shown below. I was further inspired to use my new Alice in Wonderland stamps which seemed perfect for this project.

The project was quick and easy because this was my second time making the paper tag dolls. The first paper tag dolls I made were for my Grand Daughters, Alexis and Taylor.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing both of these projects and the Zen like place where I could dwell. I am optimistically looking forward to revisiting this place again, very soon.

Cheers!!

What's for dinner?

2010-02-11T08:40:00.002-07:00

How does Quiche Lorraine sound on a rainy and overcast day? The recipe I use for my Quiche Lorraine comes straight out of Betty Crocker. I alter it slightly by adding in ham (in addition to bacon), cheddar cheese (in addition to Swiss cheese), green onions to replace white onions and topping it with finely grated parmesan cheese.

This quiche is all about comfort in my book. I served it with steamed broccoli also topped with parmesan.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

2010-02-11T08:32:00.002-07:00

Several years ago I took a couple of classes at my local stamp store to make cigar box purses. I was inspired to design my own cigar box purse after taking those classes. The theme is a twist on the phrase, Eat, Drink and Be Merry.

Eat (notice the handle at the top of the box is a fork)

Drink (here is a clue about the twist)

Food (I had a 4 sided cigar box to fill and it goes well with Eat)

I substituted Wine for Merry (goes with Drink.. as in Drink Wine)

Cheers!

Today is the beginning of....

2010-02-08T10:23:00.004-07:00

The sun was well up in the sky by the time I woke up this morning. There were the usual indications that I overslept like the sounds of planes departing Phoenix and cars coming and going to work, school and wherever. The birds and bugs were all busy going about their activities. All at a more frequent pace than say around 6 or 7 a.m. I usually have a sense of guilt when I oversleep, even on weekends, only today I noticed there was something different. The difference was the realization that I didn’t feel any guilt or panic over waking up late or that I did something wrong by sleeping in.

This may sound strange but to not feel guilty about waking up late is an odd thing for me stemming back to becoming a mother at 18 and then becoming a single mother entering the workforce around 25, my entire adult life has been about being accountable to someone or something else. Additionally, I come from a long line of doers. You know, people who don’t sit around unless you have something productive in your hands.

Three weeks have passed since the “blessing” took place, and I am beginning to fully appreciate that I have been given a wonderful opportunity to attend to myself for a bit. I have to say this new preface in the story of my life is starting to really feel good. I mean really good! There have been a few things to re-enter my life in these subsequent weeks, like wanting to cook, nesting, playing, and now feeling okay with when I oversleep. It’s like there is no inner criticism. I feel like a wonderful transformation is taking place. It’s as though I had a bad head cold forever and wasn’t able to taste food and now, all of a sudden, the cold is gone and I am finding how well everything tastes. I love and appreciate the subtleness of this realization and I believe I should give this transformation a little more time to evolve. I think that maybe taking this extra time between jobs to unwind, unkink, uncork(?) is helping my well being in a way that I never expected. Maybe, just maybe, the things that are becoming important now will find themselves rooted deeply as I move into the next chapter of my life.

So while I contemplate what this means and more importantly where it will lead me, today I am taking the time to find beauty around me, listen to nature’s song and let it encourage my soul and go about my new routine which gives joy to my heart. The following quote speaks to my being today.

“First you need only look: Notice and honor the radiance of Everything about you... Play in this universe. Tend All these shining things around you: The smallest plant, the creatures and objects in your care. Be gentle and nurture. Listen...” Anne Hillman

The Gardening Is Done. Ta Da!!!

2010-02-06T15:24:00.009-07:00

I gardened in my backyard for about 4 hours today and I sure can feel it. My hands, arms and hamstrings are sore. While it was a lot of work for one day and my body hurts, the pay off will be huge. The plants I put in today will grow and bloom. Some will last about 2 months and the others will go 3 months or more before the heat gets to them. Soon the butterflies will be flapping all around my backyard. Here is a peek into the progress and the finished product.

All the new plants are on the lounge chair. The pots to the right and behind are some that will have their contents replaced with the new plants.

This poor pot of petunias has seen better days. While the flowers still look pretty, the stalks are too leggy and the leaves are dying. Soon they will all be ripped from this pot and new petunias and alyssum will be planted in their place.

My gardening bench, where most pots are staged.

The new plants are in the flowerbed. Yeah!!

The violas are so sweet.

Below is the desert section. You can't see it and right now and it's not worth photographing as it is dormant, but there is a very tall Mexican Bird of Paradise to the left. It is gorgeous in the summer. You can make it out in the background of the photograph above. The new addition here is the ice plant in the foreground.

The pots on either side of the fern are new.

Behold, the Kalanchoe. This is a pretty succulent.

The pots below are still going strong from last fall. No need to replant yet.

I love this quote...

The earth laughs in flowers...Ralph Waldo Emerson

Maybe that is why I love planting flowers.

Saturday Is Just Alright

2010-02-06T07:38:00.004-07:00

Today is another one of those days where upon waking at 6:30 a.m., I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep. I am excited that I get to spend the day gardening. I bought new bedding plants yesterday and more this morning to replace the ones that died off over the last few months.

I purchased lantana, petunias, pansies, snap dragons, geraniums, basil, cilantro, alyssum, lobelia, ice plant, a lilac vine and kalanchoe. I can’t wait to get out there and begin. Pictures forthcoming.

In addition to gardening, I am hoping to spend the remainder of the day playing in my craft room. I want to make some valentine cards for my sister and niece and then work in my journal.

This is going to be a beautiful day.

Martha Stewart Roast Chicken 101

2010-02-05T15:52:00.001-07:00

Really, the name should say it, define it, make you crave for it... I made Martha Stewart's Roast Chicken 101 for dinner last night. I have no idea why I have not prepared it more often because it is one of the best roast chicken recipes and it is easy to prep. The recipe calls for adding salt, pepper, garlic, fresh thyme sprigs and a whole lemon (pierced with a fork all over) into the cavity. It also calls to rub unsalted butter all over the outside of the bird, however, I use one of Emeril's tricks and put it under the skin. Next, I tie up the legs with kitchen twine to hold it all in. Once the bird is ready, I add chicken broth, wine, water, along with root vegetables (carrots, turnips and parsnips), onion, a little course salt and more fresh thyme to cook under the bird. Periodically I basted the bird with the liquid. Oh my goodness, the bird comes out so juicy and sooo delicious. Try it. You will not be sorry.

Here is the plate of food, ready to be consumed. Okay, it looks like a lot of butter when in reality it is the gravy. I paired this dish with a wonderful Syrah from the winery my sister works at in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, called Field Stone Winery.

Cheers!

What? I'm Still Cooking??

2010-02-04T08:24:00.013-07:00

An interesting phenomenon I am experiencing as a result of my recent layoff is a renewed desire to cook and other "domestic" things. It is strange to find myself thinking of recipes these past couple of weeks when I have not thought much about cooking for the past few years. I give credit to a lady who was at the salon where I get my hair done as she asked for input on her menu for the week so she could make her shopping list. It got me thinking about making a list of recipes which I promptly did when I returned home, followed by a trip to the grocery store to purchase all the necessary ingredients.

So I think this phenomenon is really more about my need to bring structure to my days by cooking, exercising and cleaning, hence the things I can still control. I desperately hope that soon I will be ready to apply as much time and energy to finding a new job.

In the meantime I continue to cook. Last night I made chicken soup with angel hair pasta with the ingredients shown to the right.

Start with sautéing green onion, in butter. Once translucent, add in thyme, white pepper, salt and garlic until the garlic becomes fragrant (about 1 minute). Then add in the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, add in white wine, water, chicken broth, carrots and cooked tomatoes. Bring liquid to a boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer and cook until carrots are tender. Then add in angel hair pasta and fresh chopped basil.

This is a good and hearty soup that goes great with a glass of wine and a slice of fresh rosemary garlic bread. It might be good to include a nice little side salad.

The great thing about this recipe are the leftovers, making nice lunches for the next couple of days. Sans wine of course. Cheers!

Last Week's Cooking

2010-02-04T07:35:00.003-07:00

Last week I set out to cook something tried and true, something new and something with a new twist. In addition to the meatloaf (something tried and true), something new (lentil soup), I did cook up Tuscan chicken and chicken and cheese enchiladas. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. Both recipes were awesome so I will describe them since I can’t lean on pictures to do it for me.

Tuscan chicken is a wonderful recipe for marinating chicken. You can find it in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food cookbook. The recipe calls for fresh rosemary to steep in boiled water, then puree with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator or 20 minutes on the counter. Baste with lemon juice while grilling.

The chicken and cheese enchiladas are my own creation. I had some canned chicken that I wanted to use up so I cooked it in green chili sauce that we purchased from the Scottsdale Farmers Market. I added in onion and ancho chili powder. Once the mixture cooked down, I added it to softened corn tortillas with a mixture of jack and cheedar cheese. Once the pan is filled with enchiladas, cover with more green chili sauce and cheese and bake until bubbly.

Sometime I will make up both recipes again and remember to take pictures.

Addendum: Here is a picture of Tuscan chicken pre-grill. I forgot to take another picture post-grill, but you can see the yummy looking marinade on the chicken. This is a really, really good recipe.