Tag: life

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours….

I bet you weren’t thinking refrigerators, were ya.
So…
 As I’ve taken this pledge to feed myself and my family
a healthier menu, I’ve noticed the contents of my fridge have changed some.
 Eating healthier has gotten more expensive,
but the benefits outweigh the cost.
There are many of you out there who know how to shop
for the healthfood bargains…
I’m not one of you.. yet.
First, you’ll notice the ridiculous amount of condiments on the side door there…
I’ve got to get control of that, just sayin.  
And there’s the Maalox, which I hope not to need now that i’ve stopped eating
so much JUNK.  Because I have always eaten JUNK, not just the good stuff,
which I also love.  I was an equal opportunity eater. 
There is now organic whole milk for the manchild,
HINT essence water instead of soda for him too…
Aloe vera juice which I drink mixed with apple juice,
good for the stomach, don’t ya know.
Our chickens give us all those pretty organic eggs…
I’m using olive oil spread instead of butter on most things…
Plenty of fruits and veggies,
ground flax seed, which I ate too much of in the first week of adding it
into my diet and the gastric results were…. gass-tly.
I’m also drinking Almond or Rice milk instead of  cow’s milk lately
and the yogurt is lactose free.
I’ve also cut out most of my gluten intake (wheat) and dairy.
Both are not easily digested and I’m giving my digestive tract some relief.  
Why am I mentioning this?  Well… as I hit my forties
my body started whispering, and sometimes clamoring…
HEY girl… start thinking about what you’re tossing down the hatch, will ya?
I heeded the warning, and I’m feeling better already.
My husband will cringe if he sees this post.. because he’ll notice
the smudges on the butter shelf top right,
and all the condiments not lined up properly. 
Maybe I’ll go fix those just for him.
Because sometimes… RARELY… that’s how I roll.
SO… if you’re so inclined..and I bet I won’t get any of you to do this…
send me a picture ASAP of your fridge, with an explanation .. or not.
Doesn’t have to be health conscious… if you’re a milk, butter,
beer, bratwurst kinda person, that’s OK too!
Kinda makes you feel naked, doesn’t it?
Notice the marinating chicken midshelf?
Awesome recipe below…
Citrus Marinated Roast Chicken
recipe by Fine Cooking Magazine 

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 4-lb. whole chickens, each cut into 6 pieces (4 breasts with rib bones, 4 leg-thigh pieces, 4 wings)

4 large lemons

2 large oranges

8 medium cloves garlic, chopped

3 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 Tbs. dried, crumbled)

3 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. honey

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour the olive oil into a heavy-duty nonreactive roasting pan large enough to accommodate the chicken pieces in one layer. Arrange the chicken in the pan with the breasts in the center and the legs and wings around the edge.
Cut 1 of the lemons into 6 wedges. Finely grate the zest from another lemon to yield 1 tsp. and then squeeze the remaining lemons to yield 2/3 cup juice; transfer the zest and juice to a small bowl. Cut 1 of the oranges into 8 wedges. Finely grate the zest from the remaining orange to yield 1 tsp., and then squeeze the orange to yield 1/2 cup juice; add to the bowl with the lemon juice and zest. Scatter the lemon and orange wedges around the chicken pieces, but don’t put them on top of the chicken or they’ll interfere with browning.

Stir the garlic, oregano, soy sauce, honey, and pepper flakes into the citrus juice. Pour the marinade evenly over the chicken. Cover with plastic and refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.

Turn the chicken so all the pieces are skin side up. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375°F and continue to roast until the chicken is golden-brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the chicken and the lemon and orange wedges to a platter. Pour the pan juice into a fat separator and let sit until the fat rises to the top. Discard the excess fat and pour the juice into a 10-inch skillet. Boil over medium-high heat until reduced to 1-1/2 cups, about 10 minutes.
Serve the chicken with the citrus wedges, passing the reduced pan juice at the table.

Only in winter…

…can we dog people bring our canine companions down to walk the beaches.
The winter has been so mild, I’m taking advantage of every good walking day…


“It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears.


We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea–whether it is to sail or to watch it–we are going back from whence we came.”


– John F. Kennedy

Raw

That’s all she wrote today…Mother Nature.
I had some plans.
I wanted to take Ben down to the beach for a walk
but it’s too raw.
I wanted to go up to the barn and brush the horses…
but it’s too damp.
So..I did what I had to… cleaned the stalls and the chicken coop,
did my yoga  and attempted a peaceful mind (ha!) for these achy shoulders.neck.back..
took a shower and shook off the chills…
and trudged out into the grey day in my trusty Jeep.
(have I told you lately how much I love my Jeep?)
I looked over some good second cut hay that will be delivered tomorrow
(because OUR hay was wet when baled, and then turned moldy – live and learn)
and I did the weekend grocery shopping a day early.
There’s a loaf of Banana Bread in the oven…
with chocolate chips added just because I can.
I am attempting to eat Gluten and Dairy free
whilst still feeding my family the stuff we usually eat. 
Oh, that’s fun. 
Not. 
“No, you can’t make the bed!  I’m still in it!!”
I usually make the bed before I leave to do anything in the morning.
Something about leaving an unmade bed doesn’t feel right.
Today when I left for hay and grocery detail…
I left the bed unmade.
I actually thought about it while I was out and about. 
When I came home I thought about leaving it unmade, period.
It’s made.
I am not OCD.  I’m not even a cleaning nut. 
 When did I become so anal about bedmaking, I ask you.
I  think this is the prettiest rose I have ever seen…
husband sent some to me and some to grown-up girl…
 because sometimes that’s how he rolls 🙂

 I hope you’re having a good day, gloomy or not.
As I type this, the dogs are at my feet
and the aroma of almost done banana bread threads through the house.
I hope you are surrounded by things that bring you Joy too…
Life.Is.Good

Love is…

Unconditional
OXOXO

This picture has so much meaning to me and truly represents LOVE! The “I ♥ U” is how my husband and I have always signed our notes to each other and we even had it engraved in our wedding bands. The heart in the middle is actually my 6 year old’s handprints made into a heart shape. She IS my heart and every time I look at my mantle, it just warms my soul.   ~ Kathryn
OXOXO

OXOXO

This picture is not a great picture, my niece posted it on facebook
for me to see. But to me this is love. My brother is a Vietnam Vet,
one of those guys that went off as a young man and came back as a
troubled soul who never really came back at all. He is holding his
first grandchild, a baby boy named Ethan. This little guy gave my
brother something to hang on to, when he was ready to let go.
This picture speaks to me of hope.
~ Joyce Ann
OXOXO

Sisterly love 
~ Sally
OXOXO
The Blue Ridge Gal  
OXOXO
The attached photo of Shane and I (1999) in Minnesota before we were married.
I adore this photo. And to tell the truth, we still act like this, some 13 years later. 🙂 
Nancy ~
OXOXO
My two grandchildren – sister and brother – at the zoo.  ~Meryl
OXOXO
I took this last summer out on the pontoon. It is a shot of my daughter and her husband, who have been married 13 years, and still in love.
– Muffy
OXOXO
My mother died on Tuesday after a decade long struggle with Alzheimers…
I was playing with colored wire while notifying people about her death on the phone and got this.
Seemed right that it was laying on paper towel… she was ‘ordinary’ and ‘everyday’ and good to have around!
~ Donna

OXOXO

~Joey

OXOXO
My Vintage cupid that is just hanging around, ready to shoot at anytime.
He’s a little tattered but still adorable!
– Patti

Cracks

We all have them.
Our individual weakness may vary greatly,
but none of us is completely whole, perfect, unbreakable.
I know I have my issues, fissures… cracks in the facade.
I’m grateful I don’t have to expose them to the world…
or even worse..
 the world isn’t casting a light on me,  trying to find them.
Can you imagine the pressure. To be perfect. 
To perform every single time.   To have to do the inevitable…
age…change… in a world that shows no forgiveness. 
To have every mistake scrutinized,
your weakness magnified,  exposed…Publicly.  
I don’t ever want to know what that’s like.
For all the luxuries, the priviledge, the adventure…
still…
Big price, they pay… for reaching that bright star…
and how quickly it’s tossed to the universe.  

Rest in Peace.. finally.. Whitney Houston.

They laughed!

..the husband… the kids..
maybe even the dogs…
…at my CVS $10. reading glasses.
They’re calling me grandma.
He cracks me up, in particular…
because it will catch up with him soon too…
They USED to call me eagle eye, just so ya know.
I was always the first one to be able to read the road signs
way off in the distance. The husband always challenging me,
trying to beat me to it.  Never did.
Yes, we’re that kind of mature 🙂
As the eye dr. said to me after an eye exam where
I proudly read off the words at the very bottom of the chart,
not meant for distant reading…
“Well, for now, that’s incredible vision. But you’ll be back.
It catches up with all of us eventually!”
Just hush.
 So I caught him….
stretching those arms away from his face to read a menu, yes I did.
 and I said..
” How’s that working for you “? …

Show me the Love….

 Have you begun spreading a little love around your house yet?
The 14th is just around the corner.
Doesn’t matter if no one else gets to see it, you know.
You matter too.

This strawberry cake was just because.
Just because I longed for it.

 The manchild found this old ball jar in a rock wall way out back…
Makes a perfect tealight holder

Candycorn… it’s not just for Halloween anymore.

 So here’s the part where I want YOU to show me the LOVE.
Take a picture, or use one you’ve taken before, or
that someone has taken of you, or one from the family archives…
that in your mind represents LOVE in some form or fashion. 
Use your creativity, this doesn’t have to be hearts and flowers.
This has to be a picture of your own, no pinterest finds, ok?
I would LOVE to see what you come up with.
On Valentines Day, my post will be your depictions of Love.
Love,  Karen

Ben & Rudy’s Excellent Adventure

 What a glorious morning at the Beach.
Packed the two boy dogs in the car..
and cruised on down to the water.
You’re not making fun of his sweater, now are ya?
He lost it soon after.

 The sky was incredible…

  And something odd was discovered…
Red sand all the way down at the far end, near the southernmost Jetty….
I have no idea what it is, some sort of mineral?

Ben made a new friend.. we’ll call him Fabio.

Fabio with his Dad…

Heading back down the beach, I found some treasures… shells you don’t find here
when summer people arrive.

Rudy bound around the beach with pure joy, barking at the waves, jumping in and out of the foam…
if only we could all let ourselves go, exactly like that…

 Heading back to the Jeep, we deposited a bucket of shells and 
 about five pounds of sand all over the interior.
She is now broken in 🙂

My kind of day.  

Age and Beauty

They don’t  travel well together. 

It would seem, in the eyes of our culture, that once we have gathered an abundance of one (if ,indeed, we are LUCKY enough) ,   we lose the other.  Does it bother me that nowadays my skin is always dry, I’ve got grey hairs where I never thought they’d appear, my muscles ache and the frown lines and age spots are permanent?   Hell yeah.  Do I want to fret over it, let aging  define me, now that I’ve stepped over the line of middle middle age?  Not if I can help it.  It’s a waste of time and energy.  And you know… there really is something to be said for experience that comes only with age.  A feeling of being more comfortable in your own skin, dry, drooping, wrinkled and spotted as it may be.  There is liberation in allowing yourself to be exactly who you are, no apologies.  I didn’t give myself that permission during my youthful years.

  I read an interview last night with Demi Moore – You know… I feel sorry for her right now, she’s just been hospitalized for exhaustion, etc. and I applaud her for getting the help she needs during what is surely a horrendous time in her life.  I can’t image the pressures of being married to another celebrity 15 years your junior in that world of dominating youth and glamour and perceived bodily perfection.  In the fish eye lens, everything they do is scrutinized… their relationship status, their mental  status, their body weight, their flaws, etc. etc. etc… the media circles like vultures waiting for the animal to start the decline.  Is the glory in that profession worth the agony?

 Anyway… the interviewer asked her how she felt about her body and this is part of what she had to say… the part that stood out and deserves applause.

  “I think I sit today in a place of greater acceptance of my body, and that includes not just my weight, but all of the things that come with your changing body as you age. I am now experiencing my body as extremely thin, thin in a way that I never imagined somebody would be saying to me, “You’re too thin, and you don’t look good”.   I find peace when I don’t see my body as my enemy, when I step back and have appreciation and look at all that my body has done for me.  It’s allowed me to give birth to three beautiful children,  allowed me to explore different roles as an actor, allowed me to be strong.  You can’t look at yourself  in the mirror and tear your body apart. You have to look at it and say….

“Thank you.
  Thank you for standing by me,
 for being there for me no matter what I have put you through”. 

I will admit here that I hesitated to post this next picture.. because it’s a very raw ME.
Just out of bed, No makeup to cover dark circles, no moisterizer to conceal fine lines…
but it’s honest.  
 As I look in this mirror, I am honestly saying.. THANK YOU.