Pushing 50 and it's time to try a few (maybe... 365?) new things.
This blog is not about reinventing oneself or one's life, but about how much fun one can have while going out on a limb and branching out.
Kicking anxiety's butt one day at a time, yeah!
Some may call it cheating – I call it a creative mind! (Ha ha)
Thinking outside the box enables us to be more creative – to breakdown and overcome the norm. Thinking outside the box is what allows entrepreneurs and businessmen to succeed. It’s finding a different way to handle things, it’s trying to find a better way. Thinking outside the box helped grow huge corporations like Apple and Microsoft. It allows people who yearn for freedom to escape the unwritten societal rules about how life ‘should’ be lived, and hell – backpack across Europe for two years.
For example – society wants me to eat eggs or cereal for breakfast, but nope – not for this outoftheboxthinker…
I ate the leftover half of my turkey burger, AND a bite of pasta salad. Take that, society and diet.
Finished March’s Book of the Month- “The Mistaken Wife,” by Rose Melikan. If you like historical fiction that you can set down, go to the computer, brush up on your world history, then continue reading when you’ve satisfied your curiosity about the facts behind the fiction, this series is for you. None of that is necessary, of course, but sometimes you want a book that entertains and provides the opportunity to educate as well. The three books of this series are all packed with lots interesting sleuthing around, all based on historical facts of the period.
Photo from http://rosemelikan.com/ click the photo to take you to her site- great background info to each book there!
In this third novel, Miss Mary Finch is recruited to carry out a mission to sabotage American and French relations during the close of the 18th Century. The author provides a very short, two page summary of international relations between France, England and America at the end of the book- I’d recommend reading that if you want a quick intro to Western history circa the Napoleonic era. No spoilers if you read these back-of-the-book pages, I promise.
This is not a steamy romance- next to none at all, it’s just not that kind of book… but we do see our heroine and hero headed at their own pace toward matrimony.
Like more historical fiction with a strong heroine, detailed events and accurate period culture? I’d also recommend the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexader.
Three moms met at the High School, loaded a couple hundred costumes into their SUVs, then blew out of San Diego for the 100+ mile trek to Upland. A couple hours later, they were unloading, chatting as they worked quickly. Speeding through the costumes, maternal instincts motivated these women, for they all had either children participating in holy services at school or children home from college. Nothing gets done more quickly than tasks done by moms with the desire to see their kids, no matter how old these children are. Before completing the “dump and run” return, they learned that one of the owners has been “involved in theater for about 429 years and could make a set out of toothpaste.” Believe it! The Theatre Company was a great place to work with for organizations on a tight budget.
A regular and an owner? Details to be filled in soon…Phew! All done!
The Theatre Company in Upland, California was a long drive for the three of us, but it felt good to lend a hand and spread the workload between many helpers. At least one of the moms had made this trip a couple times already. Great programs need the participation of a lot of energetic families, and I am thankful to be part of a big, uplifting, caring drama family. The two women I helped today are two of several that I wish I had taken the time to get to know better. They are worth their weight in gold and are two of many reason why I love this high school.
Pierogis instead of macaroni and cheese… the pic before I opened the packageMmmm! Wouldn’t it be delicious to brown pierogis in the pan after these kielbasa?
Looking to try something different for dinner instead of the family’s usual mac and cheese? Be careful with pierogi, they probably have not only a Use By/Freeze By date, but also a Definitely Destroyed date and a Beware: Do Not Open- Science Fair Project In Process date to boot. Mine were well into the latter. Whoops.
Boo hoo hoo. I was really looking forward to using these in a layered casserole recipe, too, kind of like a pierogi lasagna. Doesn’t that sound good? I’ll try again another time.
After I opened the package… three boxes of pierogi very quickly join the coffee grounds. P.U.The Husband saves the day and bakes Chocolate Chip Cookies from the neighbor kid’s cookie dough fund raiser.
I met Richard when we lived in Indianapolis, when he was on a business trip to work with The Husband. A Chinese native, he said we should just use his American name, “Richard.” I remember joking, “Richard, huh. If that is your real name…” and this is how we have referred to him ever since.
Richard (if that is his real name) has a loquat tree, like just about every Chinese person in my neighborhood. They grow like weeds in the San Diego area. I didn’t know these were loquat trees until last week, when he sent some home for us to try, with me saying “So THAT’S what all those trees are.”
Does one even peel a loquat?Big, honkin’, deadly, seeds, one to four per fruit
We were brave enough to try these tonight, after looking up a little info online. I stumbled onto Lisa Rawlinson’s blog Full and Content, where she has a boatload of information and recipes about loquats. Some of it is pretty funny… I like her sense of humor. That’s where I read about arsenic in the seeds. I’m surprised The Boy tried a loquat after learning this fact. A little further investigation on the Purdue Extension website, explained the amount is not enough to cause concern. But I didn’t tell him… a mom gets to have fun scaring her kid occasionally, and he’s getting harder to bluff. Teens can be pretty skeptical, sheesh.
Made The Boy try one, too.Photo from blog Full and Content- click to go to the post about Loquats…
This usually never happens, but all three of us liked these. We decided to peel them- no blanching, no problem, the peel slipped right off. We decided that loquats taste almost exactly like pears, with similar texture even. I wonder if they would be good in smoothies? That’s what I’m making everyone eat for breakfast tomorrow since I have too many over ripe bananas occupying valuable space in the freezer. No loquat seeds will be added, I promise.
branching out... on a limb 