Vacation week in review

I had a wonderful week off - a combo of catching up with the house, some last hoorahs for the summer with J, and birthday celebrations.

Organizing/ cleaning, Homearama, Dollop cupcakes, fights with the phone company over squirrel-chewed lines, 7-hours on a boat, dinner with family at Mom & Dad's, SouthWedge market and Napa pizza with friends, Inception, and a fossil hunt. Cool!

We splurged on a new, tall, wonderfully cushioning bed. It felt so grown up - our first new-to-us bed. Now I want to design the bedroom, paint, carpets, sconces and maybe a padded headboard. Shhhhh - don't tell J, I haven't yet. (I have some other house things I have to get done first this fall, but maybe winter...)

I read a bunch, but was reading 3 books at once, so didn't finish any, but getting close! ;-)

Book #12 Molvania: A land untouched by modern dentistry (Jet Lag travel guide) by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, and Rob Sitch. Not really meant for the straight read-through I gave it, but fascinating in the level of detail they give to this compound joke.

I was overwhelmed by the birthday greetings I received on Twitter and Facebook. Friends from all phases of my life - virtual and IRL friends, close and not-so. Each wish made me smile on its own. Together, I was full of warm-fuzzies. Thank you all! >*sniff*< I love you so much! ;-)

What I like about my body

This morning, the scale and I had a falling out. It seems to have forgotten which direction it's supposed to go in. That's why I was glad to take a minute or two to record this bit on what I like about me. My instinct is to apologize for the waist shots, but that is a bit counter to the "happy w/ who I am" message we're trying to send, right?

And I'm progressing toward Supersonic Angel in ways the scale refuses to see.



PS - Here's that pic of me and the boys...

I am awesome! *snort* - hodgepodge

Inspired by @researchgoddess, I've made myself a Superhero! ;-)

I needed this kick-butt reminder. Very cool. Oooh, as I get closer to my target weight maybe I'll try a pose like this - minus wings and we'll see what I can do for the outfit.

I just realized I never put a summary of Book #10 - American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I reread this for the Twitter-wide bookclub, #1b1t. I love the book, a story of the struggle for relevance among the gods that have been brought here by immigrants over the centuries. Thanks to the bookclub - I read it more slowly, carefully, and closely than my original reading for tone, flow, & overall impressions. There's a ton of meat to this and it deserves its place in my favorites list.

Book #11 - Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. My overall reaction to this was "meh". I got tired of the antics of the cast of characters. Their motives were so massively self-centered and greedy and their actions to meet those ends so extreme, I just didn't buy it. And it got very tired once I stopped caring. Maybe I'm jaded, but while I found some of the pieces a bit gross, nothing shocked me.

Finally, today - the latest curried quinoa recipe (via Natural Health)
1c quinoa
2c water
1tbsp curry powder
1tsp cumin
1/2tsp cayenne
pinch of salt
2 med carrots, peeled & shredded (oops, I chopped)
15oz can low/no salt chickpeas (I used black beans) - rinsed/ drained
3 green onions, thinly sliced (I used chives)
2 apples, halved/cored/chopped
1/4c toasted pumpkin seeds (I used sunflower seeds)
3tbsp olive oil
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
juice of 2 limes
salt/ pepper to taste
1 1/2c mixed greens

1 - In a saucepan, combine quinoa, water, spices & salt. Bring to a boil, cover then simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until quinoa turns transparent and liquid is absorbed. Fluff w/ fork, cool & place in large bowl.
2 - Add carrots, chickpeas, onions, apples, pumpkin seeds
3 - To make dressing - whisk olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt/ pepper. Pour over quinoa mix and toss.
4 - Divide into individual servings (claims 4, I got more) and server over bed of mixed greens.

Crossing that line in the sand

When we were little we often drew lines, the ones in sand and snow were most visible, but they stretched across rooms, streets, tables, and plates. Especially with two brothers, there had to be a spot where public space ended and personal space began. So the lines were mostly barriers marked with “DO NOT CROSS”, but sometimes they were taunts – I DARE you to cross this line….

On Sunday we crossed the line from July to August. And yesterday, on 8/2, I decided to make the line real and to DARE to cross.

August is the month of my birth. And I’ve decided that I am going to celebrate in some way, shape, or form all... month... long!

Think about it – my birthday falls late in the month. I’ve had several Augusts of late that have been super high stress up until that very moment. 2 years ago the week prior to my birthday was spent deciding about a cross-country move I’d never thought of before – and the day was spent returning from a 25-hour house-scoping mission. Last year, a massive contest launched in the week before my birthday and I was the key data funnel – it ended the morning of. I kill myself and I think I tend to go high-stress this time of year even if massive deadlines aren’t looming – making problems for myself.

So this year, I’m having none of it. August is MY month, (*&^^%$-it and I’m going to enjoy it. The weather is sublime. The garden is producing. I still have my husband in home mode for a few more weeks before school starts. I have a great community of people of all types of personalities on Twitter and Facebook that are a huge boost to help me distress when I need it. There’s waves to watch rolling in on the lakeshore.

And maybe a margarita ... or ten. (Hey it’s a whole month!)

Happy August!