Ahhhh a day off

Today is my day off.

All alone in the house.  Me.  By myself.  (Well Me & the dogs.)

Now don't get me wrong.  I love hanging with Steve but I rarely get a day to myself.  And with our spring/summer season right around the corner I won't be getting a day off for about 6 months.

I cherish days like today.  Getting little tasks done:  kitchen cleaned, bathrooms cleaned, caught up on laundry.  Oh yeah.  And I may even take a nap!  

In my happy little world I wouldn't leave the house today but I'm returning clothes, looking for Spanx & have to mail off some photos. Plus tonight I work the box office at the theater.

This will be a good day!

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Food prep

My kitchen counter looks like this every morning.  Big bags of veggies, plastic containers for lunch and figuring out what to eat during the day.  See the big bag on the right?  That's spinach. I'll go thru 2 of those big bags a week.  Next to it is broccoli crowns. A bag of those a week isn't a big deal for us.

This morning I was im'ing with a friend and she said she rarely eats veggies. She was surprised that I have veggies in my eggs.  

The only veggies I'm not a fan of is boiled or creamed.  We either eat them sauteed, roasted, raw, steamed or stir fried.  I love raw spinach.  I have at least 2 servings a day.

See my knife?  That's the secret to having a good kitchen.  I love that knife.  I travel with it. My Mom said that I was a gourmet because of that knife.  I bought it at a restaurant supply store for $35.  It's balanced, heavy blade and feels good to use.  I get it professionally sharpened about once a year.  The rest of the time I have a steel that I use. 

Invest in a good knife.  Don't get those ones that you see at the home shows with the "never needs sharpening" blade.  I've got a few of those and honestly I think they're going to the thrift store next time I clean out my drawers.

Hold the knife in your hand.  Feel the balance.  

I've got "name brand" knives.  Heinkel, Calphalon, Chef Works and none compare to the one I bought at the restaurant supply store.  

One more knife tip:  When scraping food off the cutting board turn your knife over so the blade isn't doing the scraping.  It dulls the blade.

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BOOTS!

Remember the other day when I was talking about my boot fetish?

Here's one of my pairs.

These are custom made.  I designed the flames and how I wanted them to look.  The shoe maker did the rest.  You can't see it but on the back heel is the Burning Man logo.

These are made from 4 different hides:  buffalo, elk, cow & goat.  

The buttons are made from elk horns and blown glass  buttons.

There's a 2" platform on the bottom and the insole is lined with sheep skin.  

Since they were made custom for me they are the most comfortable shoes I own.  

They were pricey.  Let's just say I'm not getting any b'day, christmas, valentines or anniversary presents for a couple of years and leave it at that.

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12:12 Tuesday

Working on my Sister's necklace.

As I've said in previous posts my oldest Niece is getting married on April 4th.  My Sister got a beautiful crystal necklace from our Mom that used to belong to our Nana.

Sister is wearing it with her dress at the wedding.  She's asked me to restring it and make a pair of earrings to match. 

I think these crystals are over 100 years old or close to it.

Nana was born in 1881.  It's now 2009.  

As I was working on the necklace I kept this in mind:  "These will probably be passed on to one of my Sister's grandchildren.  I am part of a legacy by making this necklace."

Even as I write this I'm crying.  

It's an honor to be making this necklace that was part of my past and will be used as part of my Nieces future.

Sexy Boots

Sexy Boots

Thigh high platform.

Size 11 (too big  for my size 10 feet)

Patent leather that stretches over my calfs & thighs.

Great with a school girl kilt.

Here's the deal about boots.  I love em.  I have 7 or 8 pairs.  And I'm always on the look out for more.

Owning a vintage clothing store only supports my boot habit.  

And I have some really cool, interesting customers that I buy from.

I live in Nevada. Nevada is the ONLY state in the USA where prostitution is legal.  Ever watch "Cathouse" on HBO?  That place is about 30 mins from me.  

I have no problem with legalized prostitution.  The girls are STD tested once a month, it's taxed and they make bank.

I have a couple of customers who work at the brothels and they bring me clothes, shoes, boots, costumes, etc.  I figure the clothes aren't worn all that long and plus they're fun to have in the store.

Most of the time they just want to trade for other clothes.  

They're open about what they do and are willing to answer any and all my questions.

One told me that she doesn't do the line-up, she won't be on the HBO show and she gets about $2000 per "party".  She splits 50/50 with Dennis (the owner).  She doesn't take new clients and most are booked on line.  (Yeah.  I thought so too when she said $2000.)

Her houses are 100% paid for & she teaches the other girls how to save money, make investments so that they'll be ok once they leave the trade.

I make no judgement about these women.  I just think it should be legalized in all 50 states.  It happens all the time and by controlling it, taxing it and making sure no STD's are spread it just makes sense.

BTW:  There have been no reported STD's spread by any of the legal brothels in Nevada.

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And now for something a little lighter.

May I present Lily and Ruby.

I had a Girl Scout troupe hanging out & selling cookies today.  My friend Robin had asked me if they could come by & sell this weekend.

Sure!  Bring em down.

I let people dress up all the time.  There weren't many customers today due to the crappy snowy weather.  So sure.  You can dress up but here's the rules:

1.  No fighting.  If you fight over something you're done.

2.  Respect the clothes.  If something breaks, tears or ends up with a hole come & tell me.  (I have more adults breaking zippers and stealing buttons so kids trying on clothes are NOTHING to me.)

3.  Put it back.  You can't try on a 2nd outfit until #1 is hung back up with all the buttons buttoned, the zippers zipped and the shoes put back on the rack.

4.  Pick up the feathers.  Enough said.

Lily has more style at age 8 then I have at age 48.  That kid is classy.

Ruby is 3 and I pretty much dress like her.  "Hey!  Everything is red!  It must match."  Please note her sequined horns.  I wear those almost every day.

NSV:  I wasn't tempted at all by the cookies.  Friends came in & bought a couple of boxes, opened them up & offered me some.

"No thanks."

"Oh right.  You're on a diet."

"No, I'm allergic to wheat.  Thanks anyway."

Looking at the box:  Wheat flour, corn syrup,  corn starch, soy lecithin.  No, no, no & no.  

And AND I didn't feel deprived.  Yeah!

They're coming back on Weds to sell and they left the boxes.  Not even tempted.  

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Tonight's dinner:

Roasted chicken breast with roasted veggies in same pan.

Been a while since I posted a recipe.

This is easy peasy!

Pre-heat oven: 375

In a roasting/baking dish:

2 Chicken breasts: seasoned w/ fresh lemon juice, dry mustard, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic & chili powder

4 small red potatoes

Broccoli

Asparagus

Carrots

Yellow bell pepper

All veggies were tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper.

Bake 1 hour or until chicken is done. 

YUMMY!!!

Family, travel and Food

Family.  Love em or not.  Fortunately for me I love em. 

My oldest niece is getting married in April.  I spent this past weekend in San Francisco staying with her and her fiance.  Her shower was on Saturday.

My niece did something wonderful for me.  She told the hostesses about my food allergies & gave them a list of what I can/can't eat so that I'd be able to eat at the shower.  I had packed some food but ended up taking it all home.  Not only did I eat to my hearts content I took part of left overs with me.

One of the hostesses is a vegetarian and said "I'm so used to not being able to eat anything at gatherings it was no big deal to make sure you could eat."

Love that woman.

Love my niece for doing this for me.

Me, Bride-to-be, Mother o'Bride.

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Food Food Food

This anti-candida diet is getting to be tedious after 2 months. 

Mr. T'dots and I have become bored with our food.  (This from the same person who posted "Rule of 5" and "Ethnic Tastes" last week.)

I really need to do some shopping and more prepping of our food.  Change things up a bit. 

I'm heading to Vegas on Thursday for a convention.  I booked a room and will be taking my cooler full of stuff.  But then I'll need to shlep my food over to the convention and figure out how to keep every thing cool & ready to eat while I'm walking around getting catalogs.  We all know that convention food is expensive & I'll have no clue what's in the dish.

There's no way I can go off what I'm doing just because I'm not prepared.  

This is about cleaning my body out.  Not letting crap in. Right?

Oh and I may have an extra free ticket for Blue Man Group on friday night.  Any takers?

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12:12 Friday

Steaming a wedding gown

March 14th is the big "Brides of March" pub crawl.  It's where everyone dresses up in bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses and other wedding related costumes.  No grooms.  All the men are dressed like brides or bridesmaids.  

2007 Brides of March

Mr. T'dots so pretty in pink! 

Yours truly looking so fresh in an all silk flower number.

Spices, Lost, Top Chef

Lots and Lots of things to talk about today.

First off a follow-up to yesterday's posts.  

So many times we're frustrated with our food.  Boring, uninspired, the same thing every meal, every day.

By combining yesterday's "Rule of Five" post with todays "Ethnic Tastes" you may find a way to change your food around. 

Please let me know what you think and how you experimented with both the Rule of Five and the Ethnic Tastes.

Ethnic Tastes:  Adapted from Chad Sarno

Italian: Garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, onions, parsley, sage, marjoram, lemon, olives, roma tomatoes, pine nuts, capers.

Thai:  Holy basil, lemon grass, sour tamarind, curry, ginger, galangal root, kefir lime, cilantro, mint, turmeric, coriander, cumin, chiles, coconut, rice, morning glorie (swamp spinach), corn, cauliflower, anise, long bean.

Mexican & Spanish:  Cilantro, cumin, garlic, olives, coriander, onions, parsley, tamarind, avocado, paprika, chili’s, cinnamon, bell pepper, jicama.

Japanese & Chinese: Ginger, garlic, sesame, miso, soy sauce, basil, cardamom, coriander, scallions, star anise, wasabi, lime, mungbean sprouts, bok choy, sea veggies, snow peas, mushrooms, cucumber.

African:  Cilantro, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, coriander, mint, saffron, chives, fenugreek, rose, olives, orange, eggplant.

Middle Eastern/Greek:  Garlic, mint, oregano, dill, cinnamon, parsley, anise, chili’s, cilantro, saffron, sesame, thyme, marjoram, clove, poppy seed, fenugreek, onion, eggplant, tomato, lemon, cucumber, spinach, olives, pomegranate, pine nuts.

Eastern Indian:  Garlic, ginger, cardamom, curry, cumin, garam-masala, cinnamon, clove, chili’s, anise, fenugreek, fennel seed, mint, mustard, pepper, tamarind, sesame, turmeric, onions, saffron, rose, cauliflower, spinach, lemon, pomegranate, bell peppers, eggplant, tomato.

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SPOILER ALLERT!!!!! SPOILER ALLERT!!!!!!

If you've taped "Top Chef" or "Lost" STOP READING.

Continue on with your day and we'll see when you've gotten caught up.

You've been warned.

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Top Chef

Oh Carla.  Ohhhhhh Heaven-help-us Carla.

I've been rooting for you since I saw those crazy Marty Feldman eyes.  

Granted I was thrilled that Stefan didn't win.  But I really wanted you to win.  I love you Carla. I really really do.

You knew in judging that because you didn't do what you had planned and went with the other LOSERs ideas that you come in first.  The judges loved your sauces but didn't care for the meat or the dessert.  

I thought it was fun that Fabio was part of the chefs who ate the final meal.  He asked a very good question "Is this dish worth $100,000.?"  

And I cheered when Hosea gave Stefan the alligator.  But of course "SUPER STEFAN" and his cocky attitude didn't mind.  He's been cooking for 100 years and can cook anything.

WTG Hosea.  

I'll miss you Carla.

*****************

Lost!

Oh. My. God.

Ben.  What the f?

John.  What the f?

Questions: 

1.  What time period is John & the other people from the plane?

2.  Have Kate, Jack & Hurley gone back in time?  Cause it looks like Jin is in the 70's with the Dharma bus.

3.  Who are those other people who are going thru the stuff and where'd the canoe's come from?

Best line of the night: 

Hurley "Hey! Am I talking to a guy in a wheelchair?"

*****************

12:12 pm Weds

Kelley aka Pinktini picking up her petticoat.

Rule of 5

JUMP!!!

JUMP!!!

This is my friend Chelsea.  She has a burlesque group called "Bohemian Burlesque".  We help them get costumes.  She had come by to pick up petticoats and decided she'd put all 4 on.

Hello photo shoot!  I'm going to use this in my April ad.  

She's also an amazing fire spinner.  Her husband fire spins and has a habit of lighting swords on fire and swishing those around.  

Love my Chelsea!

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Rule of Five

How many times have you made something & thought "this needs something but what?".  You try adding more salt and that just isn't it.

When I was taking raw food classes one of my teachers passed out "The Rule of Five".  It's by Chad Sarno and it's made my cooking grow by leaps and bounds!

By adding each of the 5 components to a dish you'll get a full flavor. 

1.   Salt:  Himalayan sea crystals, celtic sea salt, sea week, dulse, celery.

2.    Sweet:  Agave nectar, fruit, dates, raisins, carrots, beets, stevia. 

3.   Acid/Sour:  Vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice

 4.   Heat:  Chili’s, garlic, ginger, thai basil (holy basil), pepper

 5.   Savory:  Ethnic spices that make a dish have it’s regional taste.

 Tomorrow I'll be posting regional spice lists to help you add a little more to your diet.

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12:12 pm Monday

Mike & Me.

Mike aka Man Babe is an interesting guy.  He has a big theme camp at Burning Man called 

"Sex Filth Avenue".  

I'm HOME!!!!

I'm home I'm home I'm home!

Ahhhh Home. 

Sleep in my own bed (not that the 20+ year old hide-a-bed wasn't comfortable with it's 2 layers of egg crates), snuggle with my hubby, snuggle with my dog.... ahhhh home.

Updates:

1.  Scale this morning said 214!!!! That's down 19 pounds!  Goal #1 was 10% and I'm just 4 pounds away.  I was diligent in all my food choices.  That's not to say I wasn't tempted.  Oh hell ya I was tempted.

Driving to and from was 9 hours down, 10 hours back home. (Extra hour: driving thru Los Angeles during rush hour.)  It was very very tempting to fall into old habits of getting snacks each time I bought gas.  Easy pull off the hwy to stop for fast food.

Rather than stop at fast food places for bathroom breaks I stopped at rest stops so I could mix my drinks and eat the food that wasn't finger food.  

Driving down I listened to a David Sadaris  book "Dress Your Family in Corduroy Pants".  I finished it as I pulled into LA and then switched over to my favorite NPR station KPCC.  

Driving home I listened to "Lovely Bones" and still have 5 disks to listen to.  Really good good book.  

I normally get 5 or 6 books on cd for my drives from the library.  I judge the books by their covers and by what's written on the jacket.  (Tell me something book publishers.  Why oh why do I have to know what other's think about the book?  Why did you switch from synopsis of the books to quotes from people about the book?)  My other rule is to only get unabridged readings.  I feel like I'm being cheated and so is the author by abridging/censoring their words.

2. Cooking.

Outside of 2 meals I made everything while at my Mom's.  Not a problem.  She enjoyed the food and I enjoyed all the cooking.

Turns out Mom's neighbor's son is a chef for Bobby Flay!  The son works in Vegas at Bobby Flays Mesa Grill (I think that's the name.).  

Mom had decided that I'm "gourmet" because I brought my own chef's knife & cutting board. Plus I use more than just salt & pepper when cooking.  

Oh and I went to a farmer's market!  Here in Reno our farmer's markets are only during the summer to early fall.  To go to one in February was a treat.  Freshly picked organic produce!  I am jealous of everyone who can take advantage of fresh locally grown produce in the winter. 

3.  Mom's health.

Mom is doing fantastic.  (Thanks for asking.)  

I had originally planned on staying until she got her stitches out but came home in between storms.  Outside of driving she's pretty independent and has made arrangements for someone to take her to get her stitches out.  She'll be back to driving soon after.

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Photos:  Not 12:12

Double rainbow over my Sister's garage

Tulips in bloom on my Mom's table.

Driving down to OC via the Grapevine.

Driving over Donner Pass (Yes.  That Donner Pass)

12:12 on the drive down.

***************

No recipes today.  Give me a few days to catch up with my life.

Checking in from So. Cal

I'm here. In the same area that "Real Housewives of OC" is filmed. Well kind of in the same area.

I'm at my Mom's for the next 10 days or so. She had her surgery this morning & came home right after. Carpal tunnel and another type of tunnel thing in her elbow. After 30 years of doing pottery she's lost the feeling in complete hand.

Mom's an amazing woman. At 85 she's surprised her dr's by saying "Yes. Blood pressure medication is the only thing I take." I have an wonderful roll model in my Mom.

Now about the place she lives. It's a retirement village. The Village at Laguna Woods. Used to be called Leisure World. Yes. Leisure World.

It's an incorporated city with a population of 40,000+. All the business's cater in this area cater to the seniors.

Overheard conversation today while waiting to get Mom's pain pill prescription:
"I'm so constipated! I take 3 stool softeners every day." says the customer
"Do you strain?" Pharmacist.
"I have back pain."
P: "Do you strain?"
C: "I have some pain."
P: "When you try to go do you strain?"
C: "Go where? Why would I go anywhere with a strain?"
This went on for a while.

Most of Mom's friends are in their 80's. A couple are in their 90's. These women are truly truly amazing.

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If you'll notice there's no pictures. Not due to lack of pictures but due to we're still on dial up until tomorrow. Tomorrow Mom's computer takes the big leap into DSL world! Yeah!

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My food is so on that I felt guilty this morning after putting apple butter on my Mom's toast I absent mindedly licked my finger. Suddenly I tasted sweet & realized what I'd done. For the rest of the day I became very aware of what I was doing each time I made something.

New goal: Don't lick my fingers. Ever.

My jeans are very loose & I'm feeling "thin".

I had told Mom that I'd be cooking all the meals while I was here. "No problem." I did eat breakfast out yesterday morning but it was the same thing I have at home: brown rice, scrambled eggs with nutritional yeast.

Back in the 60's Mom was a disciple of Adele Davis. She made yoghurt, whole grain breads and we had an organic garden wayyyy before it became popular.

If you're in So Cal may I recommend Mother's Market? Love love love this store. Very healthy, very reasonable and the restaurant is fantastic.

One more thing.

Mom has a lemon tree & the lemon's are ready! I love being able to go out & pick fresh lemons.

*****************
Tonight's recipe: Mustard chicken

Chicken breasts
Top with
Mustard powder
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Fresh lemon juice

Rub on & then roast 350 until done.

I served it with brown & wild rice, sauteed green beans & red bell peppers.

Enjoy!

I knew it I knew it I KNEW IT!!!

If you've dvr'd Lost STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!

Seriously.  Stop reading.  Spoiler alert! 

I've been saying  since the boat blew up that Jin was alive.  I knew it. I knew it.  

And right now I don't trust Sun.  Or Ben. But I've never trusted Ben.  Even when we first met him & he said he had parachuted into the tree.

My niece Lisa's theory:  Miles is the Dharma film guy's kid.  I'm thinking she's right. Miles did get the bloody nose.  

I LOVE this show!  

********************

In other news:

1.  Last night's fire spinning class was a blast.  Since I'm going to miss the next 2-3 classes I had one of the teachers show me the basic's of 3 new moves.  I figure if I learn 1 new move a week I'll have about 30 moves when Burning Man comes around.

2.  I'm leaving early sat to drive to Orange County.  Mom is having surgery on Tuesday and I've offered to stay while she recuperates.  She has carpel tunnel except it's also in her elbow.  She'll be in a brace and we have no clue what her mobility will be.

She's 100% on board with my food.  "You're going to cook all the meals?  FANTASTIC!" 

Bad news:  AOL dial up.  Need I say more?  But in her defense she is open to me finding other deals on DSL or cable.  

I'm taking with me sewing projects and beading projects.  I'll have plenty of uninterrupted time to finish projects.

3.  Anti-candida:  The program is going great.  But this week brought on two issues that had disappeared for a month.  My kidneys have been inflames since Monday & Mr. T'dots dandruff is back.

His dandruff had disappeared about 3 days into the program.  He's had a rash on his forehead since last fall that had also disappeared.  Not only is that back but it's back with a vengeance! 

On Sunday we had decided to up our grapefruit seed extract from once a day to twice a day. Within 24 hours everything started acting up.  It's the only thing we've changed so we've eliminated the 2nd serving.

To help my kidney's I'm cutting back on protein and adding nettle tea as a cleanser.  More fresh veggies will also help.  

*******************

12:12 pm.  Making lunch in my little rice cooker.

This has to be one of the best inventions!  I use this every single day.  

Boil water for tea:  check

Warm up veggies for lunch:  check

Cook a frozen chicken breast:  check

Yes it's sitting on a microwave but I have never EVER felt comfortable using a microwave.  Just something about it has given me the oogies.

Side note:  See the chef's knife?  We call it our "OJ Simpson" knife.  The tip is broken off & we found the knife in our front yard the same time as the murders.  I doubt that OJ would make arrangements for the murder weapon to leave Brentwood & end up in Reno.  But you never know!

Body image follow up

First off I want to thank everyone for the comments & phone calls yesterday.  It really made me feel good about who & what I am.

I had a chance with the same customer yesterday morning.  I had been vacuuming in the back stock room & didn't hear the door.  

I came out to find him standing with a friend of his.  

"This is Mimi.  This is Marie."

"Hi Marie. My name's Lauren."

In no way did I want to make him feel bad.  He's a fun natured guy and I know that it wasn't said in spite.  I put it into the same category as the time when Mr. T'dots said to a friend after she had gotten a drastic hair cut "It makes you look like a soccer Mom."  

Not the words she wanted to hear but the best way he could think of to complement her. 

"You're not wearing your crazy clothes."  I was wearing jeans, long sleeve tie-dye t-shirt and my hair pulled back into a pony.

"I don't dress like that every day.  This is who I am. I have to tell you that I really don't consider myself to be flamboyant.  I think of myself as 'free spirited'. I'm not Mimi.  Her character was mean, spiteful and played practical jokes to harm.  I understand that you didn't call me Mimi in spite.  But I'd prefer if you'd call me Lauren."

He apologized.  I apologized for making him feel guilty.  I believe we cleared the air.  

Sorry Mimi.  Lauren's here to stay.

*********************

Molly and her new friend

A very very bored dog.

If you click on the photo you can get a better look at part of the store.

Why is Molly at the store?  Monday afternoon one of our neighbors drove by the store to tell us that Molly had CHEWED her way thru the gate.  She was in the front yard.  He put her back in the yard and put a few things in front of the gate.

Mr. T'dots went home and found her in the front yard.  Sure enough she had chewed thru the wooden gate.  

We normally dog sit mon-fri but the owner has been sick so no Enzo.  She & Enzo play for hours on end. I guess separation anxiety?  

Mr. T'dots fixed the gate & then inspected the fence to make sure there weren't anymore escape routes.  

I brought her to the store in the afternoon to hang.  She loves being there but gets bored. 

********************

Last night's dinner

Salmon loaf & roasted veggies

Salmon loaf is one of my Mom's recipes.  I loved it as a kid & love it even more as an adult. Comfort food.

Pre-heat oven 350

In a small baking dish:

Open 1 can of salmon & pour into dish.  Separate out bones & skin.  (I usually put the skin into Molly's food & the bones back into the can.)

1 green onion cut up fine

1 piece of celery cut up fine

Salt

Pepper

Dill

Hint of cayenne pepper

1-2 TBS brown rice flour

Crack 1 egg over mixture.

Now get your hands messy & mix all together.  Form into giant patty.

Bake 35-40 mins.  

Thanks MOM!

*********************

12:12 pm

Mr. T'dots modeling a Mardi Gras head dress

It's GROUNDHOG day!

He saw his shadow.  Six more weeks of winter.  

********************

Super Hero Super BOWLing partayyyyy!

Who am I?  Why I'm SUPER Burner!  Here to make sure you truly enjoy your Burning Man experience.  I have extra goggles, dust masks and the very important EmergenC.  Can't let you get dehydrated.  Bored?  Let me fire spin for you.

Never fear!  TIE DYE GUY is here!

Able to bring a smile to your face, color to your wardrobe and bowling with an orange colored bowling ball it's TIE-DYE GUY to the rescue!

We had a good turn out.  We laughed and bowled for about 2 hours.  

I was concerned about food but Mr. T'dots packed some snacks for us.  We ended up sharing with a couple of other players since no one wanted to order greasy food.  

This was easy! (My new mantra)

This was easy!

This was easy!

*********************

12:12 pm Sunday

Finished cleaning off the dresser!  Yeah!

*****************

A relaxed day off & more body issues

Thursdays are my day off.  I decided to actually have a day off.  No leaving the house, no going into the store to work on a project, just staying in my pj's & no bra until 10 minutes before Mr. T'dots comes home.  

For Christmas I gave Mr. T'dots a membership to Houseseats.  $80 for a 14 month membership & we get to see concerts, plays and casino shows for "free".  Last night we had tickets to see Toxic Audio an acappella group.  The show was amazing!  I left with my cheeks in pain from laughing and smiling so much.  Here's a youtube of them.  

*********************

More on the body image issue.

I asked Mr T'dots if he had body image issues.  "Not really."

Of course not.  Do men have body image issues?  How do they get off so easy??  

So I pressed the question harder.  "You sure?"

"Yup.  Well, I'll be happy when I lose my man boobs. But that's about it."

Seriously that's it.  Meanwhile here I am focusing on my arms (which used to not be an issue for me until after one of my students wrote on a comment card "The fat above your elbows distract me.  Please start wearing long sleeve or 3/4 sleeve shirts." Here I am teaching you how to cook for your allergies and my upper arm fat distracts you? Bitch.), my "apron" (what I call my belly that hangs over),  my chin & neck hairs and my ears. (Ok here's the deal about my ear issue.  I noticed when I was a kid that old men have HUGE ears.  Then one day I noticed that many old women have HUGE ears.  There is absolutely NOTHING I can do about the size of my ears. And since so many people wear gauges their ears are going to be SUPER HUGE when they get old. My 85 year old Mom has normal ears.  But my 93 year old Uncle [my Dad's bro] has huge ears. My issue.)

It's strange but issues that my friends worry about (cellulite, saggy skin, sagging back) doesn't bother me.  

The circles under my eyes have slowly been disappearing since I started this cleanse.  I guess that was an issue for me, too.  

Just like I have learned to embrace and appreciate the food I CAN eat I have to embrace and appreciate the body I have.  And list the things I like.

1.  My hair.  Love my hair.  Always have.

2.  My eye color.  Lovely shade of green

3.  My smile

4.  My feet.  They're big and I have short toes with very tiny toe nails.  I used to paint my skin around the toe-nail to make my toe nails look bigger.  I think they're cute.  

5.  My legs.  I've got great legs.  

Now  I want you to comment with 5 things you like about your body.  Embrace those 5 things and ignore the problem areas.

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Thursday's Lunch at home! 

Turkey patty with sauteed veggies

I picked up a package of turkey burgers at Costco.  Normally I don't do pre-pared pre-packaged food but reading the ingredients (100% turkey) I decided to grab a bag.

In a hot skillet I put the patty.  Seared for a min or 2 on each side & then spiced with salt, fresh ground pepper, bit of cayenne pepper, celery salt and dill.  Did seasoning on each side.

Cut up onion, bell peppers and I grabbed broccoli for some extra greenage.

In the same pan as the turkey patty pour a little oil & saute the veggies until onions & peppers are clear.

Turkey has very little fat.  That's why I added the extra oil to saute.

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12:12 pm

Playing canasta on pogo.com

Zumba Zumba ZuuuuummmmBAHHHHH!!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Zumba!!!!

(Click on the cartoon to read it.)

Last night's class was amazing.  I was able to keep up thru the first 1.5 songs.  John (the instructor) came in & stripped down to a fishnet sleeveless shirt & leopard print fur pants.  

He put on the music & yelled "Follow me & have fun!"

I must find a weekly class!  I must ZUMBA!!!! I MUST ZUMBA!!!!!

Class lasted about 45 mins.  I kept stepping in & stepping out.  Most did the same.  I think I started sweating about 2 minutes into the 1st song.  

I shimmied

I shook

I growled

I yelled

I became a lion

I posed honor to the sky

I ZOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMBAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH'ed!!!!!!!!!

Any class that encourages dressing up with leopard print fur pants.... well... I'm there!  ZUMBA!

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Body Images

I think most of us who struggle with our weight think that once we get to our goal that we won't have body image issues.  It's as if we think goal = the answer to all of life's problems. 

I learned in my 20's that thin people can be just as messed up as fat people.  

But I never thought about their body issues.  

So last night I asked one of my friends who is thin, fit and beautiful if she had body image issues.

"Are you kidding me?  Hell yes!"

Me: "Give me an example."

her:  "First off my skin is sagging.  I am getting 'old lady' skin on my legs.  I have bags under my eyes that will never go away.  I work out almost every day to tone.   I wear long sleeves even when it's hot because my arms are ugly."

Me: "Wow.  I'm asking because I think you have a great body, you're fit & beautiful.  I never ever would have thought that about you. Have you ever been overweight?"

Her:  "Yes.  I was about 20 pounds over weight. But I lost it after I separated from my husband. I quit eating, hired a trainer and took out my aggressions in the gym."

Now you need to know that she's about 5'5" with a very thin frame.  20 pounds overweight is a lot. 

So today's lesson:  We all have body image issues and chances are they won't go away.  They may just morph into a different issue.

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12:12 pm

Cleaning & organizing the fabric in the back stock room.

Yes, we get SNOW in Reno.

Reno averages 8" of precipitation a year. Most of that is snow.

Today we're adding to that average.

Birdbath in our back yard.

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Today's quote from gratefulness.org

From experience we know that whenever we are truly awake and alive, we are also truly grateful.

 

David Steindl-Rast

Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer

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This morning I am grateful that I don't have to be to the store until 10.  I don't know how I'd manage my mornings if I had to be at a "normal" 8-5 job.  

I start my day around 6:30.  

Get up, do morning drink, pull out rebounder, jump 20-30 mins.  Today I added the Power Yoga video for 20 mins.  

Plan 3 meals.  Figure out what's for dinner & research recipes.

This morning:  boil chickpeas that soaked all night.  Make hummus & falafel's.  

Upload pic's & do blog.

Steve makes b'fast most of the time.  Today it's roasted red potatoes, veggies and scrambled eggs.

Make lunch

Take shower

Realize that it's 9:45 and be grateful that the hour sign on the door says "Open 10-ish to 6-ish".

How do you guys do it that have to be at work ON TIME at 8 in the morning?  

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Seared Ahi tuna with roasted veggies

Sunday night's dinner  

In a small food processor:

1 tsp black pepper corns

1 TBS mustard powder (make sure it's 100% mustard with no corn starch or other ingredients)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 hot thai chili diced with seeds and membrane removed

1 TBS olive oil

juice of 1/4-1/2 lemon

Process away.

Coat 1 side of ahi with mixture & put mixture side down on HOT skillet.

Coat other side of ahi with mixture.

Sear about 1-2 mins on each side.

Since this had been in the freezer I let it cook all the way thru.

Very very tasty!  

Enjoy your day!

Sunday Sunday

It's SNOWING in Reno and this is what I really want to do.

Miss Molly has the right idea.  Take a nap.  Don't get anything done on a day off.  Yeah well, she's a dog and what does she know??

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First off: WI DAY!

Down 1 pound for a 3 week total of 11 pounds gone!

WUUUUUUUHUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

Scale said 221 this morning.  I was hoping for 219 but I'll take that next sunday.  

Today I'm trying to have a day without brown rice.  It's such a "crutch" food for me.  I don't want to develop an allergy to rice.  That would make me very very sad.  But again I'd move on. 

I also talked with Steve this morning about not having a starch with dinner; just a protein and veggies.  He's game. (god I love my man!)

Speaking of Steve he is just about 100% over his cold/flu/detox sickness.  We did an infra red sauna on Friday night and I think it pretty much got it out of his system.  

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This week's new habits

1.  Two days without brown rice.  Possibly 3.  I will  start incorporating buckwheat & millet into our diet.

2.  I was at a thrift store & they were giving away dvd's.  I found this one and this one.

I will alternate doing those in the morning 5x.   I'll do this along with 30 mins on the rebounder and 15-30 mins practicing fire spinning.

3.  Finish cleaning out dresser.  All that's left is my jewelry & accessory drawer.

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12:12 pm

12:12 Friday: selling masks to a customer.  He owns an ice cream shop & wanted something for the kid that holds the arrow sign directing people to his restaurant to wear.

****

12:12 saturday:  practicing spinning.

*****

12:12 today:  Cleaning the bedroom.  The bed is covered with stuff I'm purging.

I'm in such denial about my body.  I think I'm thinner than I really am.  Seeing this photo and my HUGE arm makes me realize how much work I really need to do.

Time to get back to the bedroom.  

As we say in tie-dye world "Have a colorful day!"

I feel clean inside

Almost three weeks of eating "clean" is making a huge difference in my world.  I feel clean inside. I don't really know how else to describe how I feel.  

I'm used to the routine of getting up and making plans for 3 meals along with 2 snacks.  

-Cranberry juice with apple cider & maple syrup:  check 

-Get water going for tea: check

-Open crisper & pull out all the veggies: check

-Grab container for salad and attempt to find matching top:  check (which btw:  Dear Glad, Zip lock and every other container company.  Why can't you just sell lids??  I've got plenty of bottoms and the lids seem to rip after a few dozen times of using.   And why do you have to "improve" each design.  The new & improved package of container lids don't work with your old and stale containers.  Arggg.)

-Get rice going for the day: check (I read on one of the anti-candida web sites that rice starts to mold pretty fast so it's best to make a day's worth at a time.)

-Figure out dinner & pull fish/chicken from freezer & get it in a container to marinade: check

-While eggs are going make salad for lunch:  check.

This morning was the first time where I felt like I didn't want to make anything.  I thought "I'll just order a sandwich from next door".  (There's a restaurant next door to our store.)  It takes me all of 3-5 minutes to make my lunch.  How silly to have that thought but it was the first time that an old habit has reared it's nasty ugly head.

I wonder if those thoughts will ever go away.  Taking the easy way out.  

Steve is still very sick.  And I am still very energetic.  Outside of his brain bleed I can't remember the last time he was down like this.  Poor guy.  But honestly (and I told him this last night) I'm really over him being sick.  He's also over himself being sick.

I had to cancel friends coming over tonight for  dinner.  She had been diagnosed with celiac about the same time as I had been.  She's married to a really nice guy but he doesn't do anything to help with her allergies.  It makes me really appreciate Steve.  Even though he doesn't have my issues he still does everything with me.  

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My new favorite snack:

Mini bell peppers with home made hummus.

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12:12 pm Weds:

Bill paying.

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12:12 Thursday

Ok so this isn't really me doing the laundry but I had forgotten my camera so I figured I'd fake it.  And they're as thrilled as I was doing laundry.

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As we say in the tie-dye business "Have a colorful day!"