Thanksgiving was Thursday, and for two days we ate what we wanted when we wanted. Bowls of mashed potatoes and stuffing with gravy on top. Turkey sandwiches, scoops of casseroles, bean and sweet potatoe, and of course pie. Today is the last day of the holiday vacation, the last day of November, and the last day of splurging. We will NOT be gaining ten pounds this year between Thanksgiving and New Years.
Yesterday R made turkey stock and they had a wholesome turkey soup for dinner. A nice way to transition back to more normal healthier eating while still enjoying the flavours of the feast; how we relished the aroma all day - so delightful. I still have some dressing to finish up, and there may be a piece of cherry pie with my name on it, but I'll go back to having meals today instead of indulging in an all day buffet.
My morning begins with the last of the kale juice, with coconut water added to curb the bitterness. Then tomorrow begins three weeks of better choices. I have a holiday party to attend on the 12th and while I won't lose fifty pounds before then, I can definitely feel better and lose the bloat by then. I imagine juicing each day, and supplementing with plants. No refined sugar, grains or oils; those are the challenges to meet. And this morning I feel up to it.
But today there are still movies to watch on a rainy day, and a few leftovers to finish up. God forbid we throw anything away. And as I said, meals, not endless snacking will be the order of the day; referencing the meal habits of Hobbits, I am off for 'second breakfast'!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Friday, November 28, 2014
Day of Rest
Sometimes I suffer from a common malady known as SMUG. Sometimes this is a front for insecurities, but mostly it's just an awful way to express how much better you are than someone else when in actuality there is no such thing. Seriously, we are each what we are and that's the end of it. I have been known to beat myself up because I...
didn't join the peace corps
didn't become a teacher
don't volunteer as I should
haven't lived up to my potential.
But I am still walking and breathing, have a home in which I can curl up fed and in warmth, and family to love. That being said, the ego is a horrible beast that can take over at a moments notice if one's integrity is threatened even the tiniest little bit, even if only by one's own stray thought.
Which is a long and round about way of noting I have done absolutely nothing today so some part of me needs to feel smug that I am not one of those out about on Black Friday. I don't need to feel that way, I worked fairly hard on and off for days getting ready for the holiday, and I shouldn't have to justify or explain away a day of rest.
A big part of me doesn't, it's the small little voice telling me how lazy I am that stirs up trouble. Now that it's down in writing I can smother that little beastie with a pillow and go back to left overs and movies - everything that today should be just now.
And I think I hear a turkey sandwich calling my name.
didn't join the peace corps
didn't become a teacher
don't volunteer as I should
haven't lived up to my potential.
But I am still walking and breathing, have a home in which I can curl up fed and in warmth, and family to love. That being said, the ego is a horrible beast that can take over at a moments notice if one's integrity is threatened even the tiniest little bit, even if only by one's own stray thought.
Which is a long and round about way of noting I have done absolutely nothing today so some part of me needs to feel smug that I am not one of those out about on Black Friday. I don't need to feel that way, I worked fairly hard on and off for days getting ready for the holiday, and I shouldn't have to justify or explain away a day of rest.
A big part of me doesn't, it's the small little voice telling me how lazy I am that stirs up trouble. Now that it's down in writing I can smother that little beastie with a pillow and go back to left overs and movies - everything that today should be just now.
And I think I hear a turkey sandwich calling my name.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Giving Thanks
I am so grateful to have had a day filled with hard work, that I am able to do this at my daughter's side in harmony, and that our efforts resulted in a table full of thanksgiving fare that was truly a wonderful feast. My sister and a friend of M's joined us for the festivities and the boys have just put a huge dent in the pecan pie.
They had disappeared while we put together a puzzle, played a game of bananas, and watched Maleficent.
Time for tea, feet up, and starting the dishwasher. I do wish Mom could have been here, but we all do what we can. Better go cover the pies....
They had disappeared while we put together a puzzle, played a game of bananas, and watched Maleficent.
Time for tea, feet up, and starting the dishwasher. I do wish Mom could have been here, but we all do what we can. Better go cover the pies....
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
The Wednesday before a feast
This morning A and I left the house early to find eggs, potatoe chips, and even a new sweater for me to wear to an upcoming holiday dinner that I was invited to by one of my clients at work. We also picked up a new play hoodie for A since she is growing by leaps and bounds. Bringing home Croods as incentive for her to curl up warm and rest, we spent a lovely time together snuggling and nibbling on our breakfast while we watched as they discovered the world outside their cave. I did not expect to like this, and I did not - I loved it!
Now it is time for her Dad to take over and I hear the beginnings of Star Wars as I mentally prepare to clean the bathroom and finish up the laundry. I have been putting this off for days; lord above I hate cleaning the bathroom floor, I always have, and I guess it goes without says, who doesn't? And we found a a new pumpkin spice candle to light and clear out the smell of cleansers once I am done in there. It will also stay lit tomorrow for festive purposes.
It will be time for a break - I will not overtax my back and hands but be sensible and rest them between endeavors.
Then I'll purge the kitchen of anything extraneous to the upcoming feast; I will make disappear all the bits and pieces that collect on the raised counter between kitchen and dining room: bottle caps, hair clips, coins, glue etc etc etc. Just baskets and bowls of fruit, a small jar of ginger candy, and a bowl of mixed nuts to graze on will be left by the time I am done.
I may bake off the sweet potatoes and brown up the rosemary sausage in preparation of two of tomorrow's dishes depending on how the day goes.
We have another guest for tomorrow and everyone is looking forward to the holiday. I wish R could be home today too, but at least she will be off early and I believe we both have Friday off.
Full of decaf and ready to rock n roll with book on and socks off I am ready for my slaying of the jabberwocky - er - bathroom. Whatever. I'm ready.
Now it is time for her Dad to take over and I hear the beginnings of Star Wars as I mentally prepare to clean the bathroom and finish up the laundry. I have been putting this off for days; lord above I hate cleaning the bathroom floor, I always have, and I guess it goes without says, who doesn't? And we found a a new pumpkin spice candle to light and clear out the smell of cleansers once I am done in there. It will also stay lit tomorrow for festive purposes.
It will be time for a break - I will not overtax my back and hands but be sensible and rest them between endeavors.
Then I'll purge the kitchen of anything extraneous to the upcoming feast; I will make disappear all the bits and pieces that collect on the raised counter between kitchen and dining room: bottle caps, hair clips, coins, glue etc etc etc. Just baskets and bowls of fruit, a small jar of ginger candy, and a bowl of mixed nuts to graze on will be left by the time I am done.
I may bake off the sweet potatoes and brown up the rosemary sausage in preparation of two of tomorrow's dishes depending on how the day goes.
We have another guest for tomorrow and everyone is looking forward to the holiday. I wish R could be home today too, but at least she will be off early and I believe we both have Friday off.
Full of decaf and ready to rock n roll with book on and socks off I am ready for my slaying of the jabberwocky - er - bathroom. Whatever. I'm ready.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
A Day Closer
Thanksgiving looms and I will not think about it. I will concentrate on what will make me feel good today. A cleaner room, counter space in the kitchen for all of the cooking that is about to take place, pretty flowers outside the dining room window. Let me digress here and visit a memory.
I am standing in my grandmother's living room, two chairs bookend the fireplace, angled in for visiting, The wall to the left behind the furthest chair has a window looking out onto the lanai - the enclosed back porch- and a table that is filled with plants, artifacts from Mexico, small treasures, rocks & shells. My grandfather was somewhat of a rock hound, and both A and I have inherited his inclinations towards this hobby. So I grew up next door, and was often at my grandparents, making it a second home and much beloved. When I first set the big wooden table outside my dining room window here at the first and only home of my own, I didn't realize that I was replicating a childhood familiarity. There was no place else to put it, and gradually it was covered with plants, rocks, shells, pine-cones, and eventually a small statue that had once been my grandfathers. I did realize along the way what I was doing, and it didn't hurt that it made our small dining room seem larger - bringing the outside in so to say. So the table is actually a bridge to my childhood and memories of love & warmth.
Back to the pretty flowers; the table needs to be swept clean and new flowers potted where the summer's fare has died away from lack of attention. The remaining live plants are a cactus brought home from mothers that may or may not have originated from LA and my grandparents, and a small marguerite daisy that is apparently a bit more hardy than I am neglectful.
Before heading out for Decaf and flowers I need to measure the lights in the kitchen that need replacing so we have bright workspace on Weds. & Thurs. That will be the fun part. Not so fun will be wiping down the pool toys out back that are residing on the hot tub cover and then finding a place in the garage to house them for the winter. I am therefore understandably grateful for the sun streaming through my southern facing bedroom; this will make the outside chores not only bearable, but even enjoyable. I am hoping for a crisp sunny fall day for my chores, I need the air and movement and feeling of accomplishment today will bring.
Because - damn here is the pity party - Joey is missing another holiday, another chance to inhale a mound of buttery mashed potatoes, another chance to have his family love him and hug him and cherish him. Okay, I can do a minute of sad, but then I am going to go do the flower thing.
I am standing in my grandmother's living room, two chairs bookend the fireplace, angled in for visiting, The wall to the left behind the furthest chair has a window looking out onto the lanai - the enclosed back porch- and a table that is filled with plants, artifacts from Mexico, small treasures, rocks & shells. My grandfather was somewhat of a rock hound, and both A and I have inherited his inclinations towards this hobby. So I grew up next door, and was often at my grandparents, making it a second home and much beloved. When I first set the big wooden table outside my dining room window here at the first and only home of my own, I didn't realize that I was replicating a childhood familiarity. There was no place else to put it, and gradually it was covered with plants, rocks, shells, pine-cones, and eventually a small statue that had once been my grandfathers. I did realize along the way what I was doing, and it didn't hurt that it made our small dining room seem larger - bringing the outside in so to say. So the table is actually a bridge to my childhood and memories of love & warmth.
Back to the pretty flowers; the table needs to be swept clean and new flowers potted where the summer's fare has died away from lack of attention. The remaining live plants are a cactus brought home from mothers that may or may not have originated from LA and my grandparents, and a small marguerite daisy that is apparently a bit more hardy than I am neglectful.
Before heading out for Decaf and flowers I need to measure the lights in the kitchen that need replacing so we have bright workspace on Weds. & Thurs. That will be the fun part. Not so fun will be wiping down the pool toys out back that are residing on the hot tub cover and then finding a place in the garage to house them for the winter. I am therefore understandably grateful for the sun streaming through my southern facing bedroom; this will make the outside chores not only bearable, but even enjoyable. I am hoping for a crisp sunny fall day for my chores, I need the air and movement and feeling of accomplishment today will bring.
Because - damn here is the pity party - Joey is missing another holiday, another chance to inhale a mound of buttery mashed potatoes, another chance to have his family love him and hug him and cherish him. Okay, I can do a minute of sad, but then I am going to go do the flower thing.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Ginger Cookies
I did not need to know that Trader Joe's makes triple ginger cookies that are amazingly wonderful. Now all I want is to light the fire and cozy in with a book and the whole tub of cookies. While I did pick up an eco friendly fire log and have a bookshelf of friends I could visit, I know that if I do my back will be worthless later and I have a bathroom to clean. But having a few for a snack was awesome.
I was at the store with a fresh decaf gingerbread latte in hand at 5am this morning; I would rather play obstacle course with those wonderful people stocking shelves and their pallets of goodies than with a hundred other shopping carts. No bueno. Home by 6am and groceries put away, then back to bed and another episode of The Red Band Society. R was ready to go and out the door at 8 for her trip across town to TJ's (hence the presence of the aforementioned ginger snaps) while A and I tore apart the beautiful lego set that we had just finished last night. AND I ruined one of my nails doing it. I don't often splurge but it is relaxing to have a manicure and while running errands yesterday I stopped and indulged myself. A turned down both breakfast options of pumpkin pancakes and egg on toast and instead requested a cinnamon apple. Good Girl. So I chopped a honey crisp apple, sprinkled cinnamon over the top, and nuked it covered in the microwave for a couple of minutes. She ate every piece. No I did not use plastic in the microwave.
So the brined turkey is in the fridge surrounded by lots of awesome ingredients and there is just the Costco run to make tomorrow at lunch. I love that they won't be opened on Thanksgiving - no one should have to work that day. Hmmm. Could we function if that happened? Lets see, we have self serve gas stations for those in need; dinner might not be perfect if someone forgot to pick up rolls or flowers or wine but it would still be wonderful - it's about the people remember - and everyone would be well rested for the craziness called Black Friday. While at Lowe's yesterday I noticed there was a small section largely labeled as Black Friday specials; marketing strikes again. I will admit to having browsed through their Christmas section, and was able to resist everything with the exception of one beautiful pink poinsettia. $7, couldn't pass it up.
Time to plug in my audio book and rotate another's day worth of dishes. I won't be cooking for the next four days, I picked up a jug of Kale Blazer by Naked to sip on throughout the day and there are veggies in the fridge to make fresh juice if I feel so inclined. After take out last night I am swollen and grumpy about it.
One last thought; we are excited about the sweet potatoes this year. Organic Garnet yams roasted and then blended with butter and a little brown sugar, then topped with a crumble of diced pecans, cranberries and TRIPLE GINGER COOKIES, then covered with mini marshmallows. Who needs pie after that? Well, we do and the pumpkin is already in the freezer.
Maybe one more cookie before doing the dishes...after all, I did not drive through to get breakfast this morning. Another Good Girl - Me this time!
I was at the store with a fresh decaf gingerbread latte in hand at 5am this morning; I would rather play obstacle course with those wonderful people stocking shelves and their pallets of goodies than with a hundred other shopping carts. No bueno. Home by 6am and groceries put away, then back to bed and another episode of The Red Band Society. R was ready to go and out the door at 8 for her trip across town to TJ's (hence the presence of the aforementioned ginger snaps) while A and I tore apart the beautiful lego set that we had just finished last night. AND I ruined one of my nails doing it. I don't often splurge but it is relaxing to have a manicure and while running errands yesterday I stopped and indulged myself. A turned down both breakfast options of pumpkin pancakes and egg on toast and instead requested a cinnamon apple. Good Girl. So I chopped a honey crisp apple, sprinkled cinnamon over the top, and nuked it covered in the microwave for a couple of minutes. She ate every piece. No I did not use plastic in the microwave.
So the brined turkey is in the fridge surrounded by lots of awesome ingredients and there is just the Costco run to make tomorrow at lunch. I love that they won't be opened on Thanksgiving - no one should have to work that day. Hmmm. Could we function if that happened? Lets see, we have self serve gas stations for those in need; dinner might not be perfect if someone forgot to pick up rolls or flowers or wine but it would still be wonderful - it's about the people remember - and everyone would be well rested for the craziness called Black Friday. While at Lowe's yesterday I noticed there was a small section largely labeled as Black Friday specials; marketing strikes again. I will admit to having browsed through their Christmas section, and was able to resist everything with the exception of one beautiful pink poinsettia. $7, couldn't pass it up.
Time to plug in my audio book and rotate another's day worth of dishes. I won't be cooking for the next four days, I picked up a jug of Kale Blazer by Naked to sip on throughout the day and there are veggies in the fridge to make fresh juice if I feel so inclined. After take out last night I am swollen and grumpy about it.
One last thought; we are excited about the sweet potatoes this year. Organic Garnet yams roasted and then blended with butter and a little brown sugar, then topped with a crumble of diced pecans, cranberries and TRIPLE GINGER COOKIES, then covered with mini marshmallows. Who needs pie after that? Well, we do and the pumpkin is already in the freezer.
Maybe one more cookie before doing the dishes...after all, I did not drive through to get breakfast this morning. Another Good Girl - Me this time!
Saturday, November 22, 2014
So much to do, so little motivation
I guess it's Saturday and I can take a nap if I want. Maybe when I get back up I'll feel like working around the house. It's been raining on and off for days, which no one in California is used to anymore, and it's put a damper on my enthusiasm. And of course no decaf this morning; I shouldn't have had any this week so my energy would be back, but no, I indulged.
I did make it to Lowes this morning for a lightbulb, a poinsettia and other odds and ends so I did accomplish a little bit. Oh, and loaded up the dishwasher and put away the dishes I had set to drain yesterday, putting the juicer back together so it's ready for the next go around. And I made more ginger water and infused some honey with cinnamon.
I suppose that if I feel the same way tomorrow I can have a cup just to make sure I get things done. Thanksgiving is just days away and there is so much to do. But no matter how much gets done, there will be a wonderful meal, a visit from my sister, and much to be thankful for, even if one of those things isn't a totally clean house. (Love & Light up to you Erma Bombeck for your words of wisdom.)
Later: After my nap the kids left for the movies and A and I worked on a new lego kit. Not a bad way at all to spend a lazy afternoon. Now R is off picking up asian food for dinner; while chow mein is not necessarily my friend it is easy. I could do worse.
I almost forgot we threw together the grocery lists for Thanksgiving. Well, R did it while I threw out ingredients here and there. Tomorrow at o'dark thirty I'll hit Safeway for a Claim Jumper pumpkin pie, dressing mix (celery, onions & herbs) and herb packets. And potatoes and heavy cream. Oh, and gingersnaps for the sweet potato casserole. The brined turkey will come from Trader Joes along with sweet potatoes and I'll grab the cabbage\brussels sprouts salad mix from Costco on Monday.
Roast Turkey and homemade gravy
Sweet Potato Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Boudin Sourdough dressing \ half with artichokes and sausage
Hawaiian Rolls
Cabbage salad w\ poppy dressing
Then homemade whipped cream on two kinds of pie, one homemade and purchased from Windmill Farms - probably boysenberry, maybe apple.
Dinner's here and now I'm hungry! Who says Thanksgiving isn't about the food. Okay okay. I know.
I did make it to Lowes this morning for a lightbulb, a poinsettia and other odds and ends so I did accomplish a little bit. Oh, and loaded up the dishwasher and put away the dishes I had set to drain yesterday, putting the juicer back together so it's ready for the next go around. And I made more ginger water and infused some honey with cinnamon.
I suppose that if I feel the same way tomorrow I can have a cup just to make sure I get things done. Thanksgiving is just days away and there is so much to do. But no matter how much gets done, there will be a wonderful meal, a visit from my sister, and much to be thankful for, even if one of those things isn't a totally clean house. (Love & Light up to you Erma Bombeck for your words of wisdom.)
Later: After my nap the kids left for the movies and A and I worked on a new lego kit. Not a bad way at all to spend a lazy afternoon. Now R is off picking up asian food for dinner; while chow mein is not necessarily my friend it is easy. I could do worse.
I almost forgot we threw together the grocery lists for Thanksgiving. Well, R did it while I threw out ingredients here and there. Tomorrow at o'dark thirty I'll hit Safeway for a Claim Jumper pumpkin pie, dressing mix (celery, onions & herbs) and herb packets. And potatoes and heavy cream. Oh, and gingersnaps for the sweet potato casserole. The brined turkey will come from Trader Joes along with sweet potatoes and I'll grab the cabbage\brussels sprouts salad mix from Costco on Monday.
Roast Turkey and homemade gravy
Sweet Potato Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Boudin Sourdough dressing \ half with artichokes and sausage
Hawaiian Rolls
Cabbage salad w\ poppy dressing
Then homemade whipped cream on two kinds of pie, one homemade and purchased from Windmill Farms - probably boysenberry, maybe apple.
Dinner's here and now I'm hungry! Who says Thanksgiving isn't about the food. Okay okay. I know.
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