The Lazy Blogger

It's not that life has been uneventful or that I have been without thoughts to write down. We've had plenty going on around here, but my spare moments haven't been spent at the computer or even behind the camera.

Most recently, Blake has been away. He had a work dinner on Thursday night, and he left early Friday morning for the Bahamas, also "for work." Anna just isn't herself when Daddy is away; thankfully, Mo D came for a visit, which made the change much more fun for everyone. Here's the list of all that we did while she was here:

- A visit to the phlebotomist for Anna's second round of bloodwork.

- Dinner out with Aunt Kaity.

- Two rounds of shoveling, eating snow, making snow angels, and enjoying the fresh air.

- Literally HOURS of homemade play dough fun, two days in a row. It'd been ages since we played with play dough, and Anna could not get enough of making worms and playing with tools of all kinds.

- The usual obstacle courses, story-reading, puzzles, painting...

- A brief happy hour visit for me with Spinning colleagues on Saturday evening.

- A viewing of The Grinch cartoon (at Anna's request, obviously).

- Muffin making

.- I finally (FINALLY!) set up my new sewing machine and can actually use it.

- Mo D lovingly cleaned my car and our garage while Anna napped (not to mention all the other clean up she did while she was here).

- Toenail painting.

- Popcorn and The King's Speech by myself on a Sunday afternoon.

And, after Mo left, Anna and I ventured back outside to enjoy the sunshine. We had "so much fun" trying on old shoes and winter gear to see what still fits after we came inside. Finally, Daddy arrived home just before bed. While we LOVED having Mo here, it's really so good to have Blake back home.

A snuggle while viewing the Grinch.

A Daddy worm.

Loving her play dough.

Pesto Two Ways

A mediocre photo of our Broccoli Pesto Pasta (it's always a challenge to take a good photo of hot food, because I don't want it to get too cold while I mess with the camera settings!)

We've been making one of these two recipes about once per week since we discovered them. These pestos are relatively quick and healthy, and most importantly, they are delicious! Both recipes came from 101 Cookbooks, a favorite healthy, vegetarian food blog.

Broccoli Pesto and Fusilli Pasta Recipe

1 medium head of broccoli (about 3 cups), cut into very small florets

1/3 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted (we don't use these, and it turns out fine)

1 clove garlic

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/4 teaspoon + sea salt

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound whole wheat pasta (we used fusilli)

3 handfuls of spinach or chard, well chopped (we didn't have it last time, so omitted it and still loved it)

handful of oily black olives, pitted

more parmesan for serving

Bring two pots of water to a boil, one large (for pasta), one medium (for broccoli).

To cook the broccoli, salt the boiling water and add the broccoli. Cook for just twelve seconds. Drain immediately and run cold water over the broccoli to stop the cooking. Reserve a few of the the small florets and puree the rest in a food processor along with the parmesan, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Drizzle in the olive oil while still blending. Taste, and adjust with more salt or lemon juice if needed. Set aside.

To cook the pasta, salt the boiling water generously and add the pasta. Boil until just barely tender (remember Blake's perfectly cooked pasta). Drain, transfer the hot pasta to a large bowl and stir in the spinach until wilted (if using it). Gently stir in about half of the pesto, and add more until you get the consistency you desire. Serve topped with olives, reserved broccoli florets and parmesan cheese.

Winter Pasta (Kale Pesto)

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

4 small shallots, peeled (we've used onion if we don't have shallots)

1 small bunch of kale, stalks removed, washed well

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup soft goat cheese, plus more for topping (we use a bit more goat cheese, because you can rarely have too much cheese)

2 Tbsp + hot pasta water

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

fresh lemon juice (optional, but we DO use it)

12 oz dried penne or fusilli pasta

fresh thyme leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the boiling water generously, and add the garlic and shallots. Boil for 2-3 minutes, stir in the kale and cook for another ten seconds. Don't overcook. Working quickly, use a slotted spoon or strainer to fish the greens, garlic and shallots from the water. Use a food processor to puree the ingredients along with the olive oil and goat cheese. Add a couple tablespoons of hot pasta water if needed (we don't usually need this). Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.

Reheat the pot of water and boil the pasta per package instructions (remember Blake's perfectly cooked pasta). Drain and toss immediately with the green sauce. Serve topped with a few pinches of fresh thyme and more crumbled goat cheese.

Warm Winter Days

The last few days have been absolutely frigid. Our time outside is short, but it's also glorious on days like today when the sun is shining and the sky is clear blue. We had a really lovely Sunday, some spent outside, some inside. It's one that I want to remember for it's quality time together and it's little, perfect moments.

Anna woke, after sleeping in, to find Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Blair at our house, and her initially whiny mood immediately changed to excitement. They came late and stayed over night due to a foul gasoline smell that invaded their apartment yesterday.

Carolyn and I went to sweaty yoga while Anna played with Blake and Blair.

Anna took a nap, and while she did, Blake and I lounged in bed reading and napping ourselves.

After nap time, we bundled ourselves and marched out into the freezing day. We shoveled, ate snow (what's left of it), and tracked a rather large bird via it's footprints in our front yard. It seems some bird of prey was chasing a bunny or a mouse, making an intricate pattern in the snow.

Shovels taking a break.

These are much bigger than they appear.

More footprints in the snow.

Blake finalized travel plans for our family "spring break." We are so looking forward to sun and sand in West Palm Beach, Florida.

After the cold, we snuggled on the warm couch with popcorn, and we watched Mary Poppins. It was Anna's first viewing and only a partial one, but she loved the music and would not stop talking about all the things she wanted to do that Mary Poppins does (on the way up to bath, I had to help her "slide" up and down the bannister). She effortlessly belted out Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious all by herself before dinner. Now, she wants to watch it again and again and again.

In Theory

The other day Anna pulled a book off her bookshelf and asked me to read it. The book, Incredible You: 10 Ways to Let Your Greatness Shine Through, is one that I bought so long ago, I'd forgotten about it. I purchased it for the future; I knew it might not interest her for a while, but I had to have it, because it shares some really important lessons I hope Anna will know and learn in life.

Dyer's 10 principles, in my own words:

1. We all have greatness to share with the world. Share your unique gifts.

2. Discover your passions. Don't let fear stop you from doing what you love.

3. Give love and accept love. Your love is limitless.

4. Meditate. Get quiet and just be. Go within. Connect with spirit.

5. Stay present. Accept your past, and go beyond it to create the Now you desire.

6. Focus your mind on positive thoughts. Practice affirmations, and ask for help to solve problems and get you through.

7. You can't control other people's thoughts or actions. Let it (them) go.

8. Visualize the You that you want to be. Believe in your self and your vision.

9. We are all special, and we are all connected by spirit.

10. Thoughts are powerful creators. Positive ones feed your spirit and bring you energy. Negative ones deplete you.

As we sat together and read and re-read the story, I felt uplifted and hopeful, and at the same time, a little bit disappointed in myself. I'm not the best model lately, despite my belief in each of these ideas. In what seems like another lifetime, these weren't just theories; I put them into practice each day. Now, when it feels more important to be living and teaching these principles, I struggle to do so. While the days are surely filled with smiles and snuggles, they are also filled with numerous battles to pick from. I'm not often my best self, the one who can find a way to say "No" without saying "No," the one who can provide "options" and hope patiently that a dawdling toddler will choose one of the cleverly-crafted choices I've provided, the one who doesn't raise my voice or bicker with Daddy or lose myself in thoughts of things I need to get done when we're reading a story. Of course, what zaps my energy the most is my own negative self-talk, the beating myself up for not being the mom I want to be in each and every moment, which contradicts maybe the most important thing I want Anna to know and learn: self-love. I wish I could say to Anna, and have her understand it now - that my behavior doesn't always reflect my beliefs like I'd like it to, that I often inadvertently send a message I don't intend to send, that I'm working on my Self so I can be the example I wish to be for her, but I will never be perfect, and that's a good thing.

After reading this book a few times, I kept thinking about all the things I want to teach Anna, or that I hope she'll learn from other people in her life. I can't even wrap my head around a list that long, but I'm starting one. At the top of that list is definitely going to be this: I want for you to believe and know in your heart that you are an "incredible, divine being."

Recipe: Chana Masala

I'm not sure why I haven't been posting recipes lately. Although we haven't been experimenting with new recipes that much, we've been cooking as much as ever. I have a list of recipes I'm compiling to post, ones that have become standard fare at our house. The following is one that we make almost bi-weekly, often on nights when I have to teach Spinning, because it reheats well and is a healthy, flavorful one-pot meal.

Blake's Indian co-worker shared this recipe with us, asserting that it reminded her of the best restaurant versions she's tasted. It really is delicious. I've changed it a bit, simply because we didn't have all of the spices it called for. This is how we make it:

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tsp grated fresh ginger

1 Tbsp ground coriander

2 Tsp ground cumin

1/2 Tsp ground cayenne pepper (if you want even more spice, add 1 minced chili pepper as well)

1 Tsp ground turmeric

2 Tsp paprika

1 Tsp garam masala

1 15-oz can whole tomatoes with juices, chopped small

2/3 cup water

4 cups cooked chickpeas

1/2 Tsp salt

1 lemon, juiced

1 bunch of baby spinach or 1 small bunch of chard

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and saute over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spices for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt, lemon juice, and chard or spincah. Cover and cook until greens are wilted.

Sledding, 2011

I proved to be (maybe) a bit more brave during this year's sledding expedition at the monster hill. Anna, of course, was happy to go faster. Blake, Blair, and Carolyn were the true daredevils yesterday. I captured a few photos with my iPhone, some of which are priceless if you look closely.

The three stooges Before.

Anna was the designated pusher.

Here they come.

Down...

Check out Blake's expression in this photo.

After.

Two Weeks in Review

The first two weeks of 2011 might best be described as a lot of work and a little fun; energizing and exhausting; and ultimately, hopeful. Most of the fun and energy has come during the day with Anna. Much of the work has been done in the evening, which means exhaustion from too little relaxation time. Nonetheless, I'm feeling a general sense of hopefulness about 2011.

Here's what we've been up to:

Goals contemplated and written.

An appointment with a new doctor (for Anna), followed by comical and time-consuming attempts at collecting multiple stool and urine samples.

New Years cards sent, thank you notes written, flexible spending account reconciled, medical bills paid, donations taken to the Salvation Army (thanks, Mo D), and toys re-organized.

Visits with Uncle Blair and Aunt Carolyn, who have moved back to Ann Arbor from Seattle.

Blood work for Anna, the trauma of which was greatly reduced by doing blood work on her babies in all spare moments this week.

Lots and lots of doll play, inspired by the blood work. The dolls are also doing plenty of dancing, eating, sleeping, listening, and watching.

A return to yoga and spinning after a holiday hiatus. And, a pretty good meditation record over the last two weeks (ALMOST every day).

Blake's first experience with jury duty (all week long).

About 7 hours of sleep per night.

We finally have snow, and lots of it. Anna has eaten her weight in snow, and I have to bury her in it after each scoop with the shovel. We've been out in it every day this week.

Creative endeavors. I wrote a new story for Anna's bedtime transitions, made a visual bedtime routine for Anna, crafted "streamers" for dancing with, just like the ones Angela has at music class, and Anna and I both whipped up delicious powerball cookies.

New sessions of music and playschool.

A date night spent returning Christmas presents and seeing a movie.

More macaroni and cheese in the bathtub. Lots of helping mommy cook everything, including the mac and cheese (and pleading constantly to stir, stir, stir).

The usual groceries, laundry, cooking, cleaning up.

Repeated communications between Blake and a homeowner, which finally lead to a long-awaited chance to look at a potential new house.

Reading whenever I can squeeze it in. Freedom is a long, not at all mindless, read. I'm enjoying it, but I have a lot to get through before book club this month.

A first photography lesson and lots of experimenting with my camera, inside and out (see related photos).

I love that I could see the individual snow flakes in the fallen snow today.

A balanced diet: snow, snow, and more snow.

Snow beard.

Happiness.

"Streamers" just like the one Angela had at music class this week. We used the tops from empty oatmeal containers and strips of leftover fabric.

Ella and Ruby watching as we played outside. They heard all about it when we came in.

Experimenting

Today Anna wore the adorable skirt that Mo D sewed for her for Christmas. I figured it was a good time to experiment with more Manual mode shooting inside. I really was experimenting - I messed with the aperture and shutter speed a little too much, just to see how things would turn out. I left the ISO at 100 much of the time. Needless to say, I have a lot of cute shots, some of which are blurry or a bit under or over-exposed. But, I can actually look at the photo information and understand, for the most part, what happened and why they look like they do. That's something! I usually do a little editing, but I left these in their original format...

Camera Lessons

Yesterday I had my first photography lesson with Mike from Huron Camera, the only locally-owned camera shop left in our area. In just one hour, I learned so much more than I thought possible, way more than I've been able to make sense of in the last year of reading the two books that I have.

The most important things I took away from my lesson:

• I understand shutter speed, aperture, and ISO better, and I'm beginning to grasp how they interact to give you proper exposure. I can now shoot in manual mode!
• Set shutter speed or aperture first, raise ISO only if you have no other choice (keep it below 400 if possible).
• I'm embarrassed to admit that I never specified my shutter speed before, and I hadn't used the analog exposure display in my viewfinder before. My outside pictures were almost always overexposed, and I didn't know how to fix it. I do now.
• I learned how to use the histogram on my camera to check exposure.

We went to Rolling Hills for a hike today, and I played around with shooting in Manual mode. The two big problems I was having prior to my lesson were overexposed outdoor shots and blurry indoor shots in low-light situations. The exposure of my snowy pics was so much better than in the past. I still need to play around with low-light situations indoors later this week.

The most important lesson I learned, though? Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today (or something like that)! I felt the same way after the first book club meeting...why did I wait so long to do this!? I've had this camera for over a year; after only an hour and $40, I'm so much more comfortable with my camera. And, I think my photos are getting better, too.

I love the way they are looking at each other here.

A walk in the woods.

Sunshine on her precious face.

A family of shadows in the setting sun.

Playing with silhouette shots. Not quite there, but getting close.

Posing.

Probably my favorite photo...and, sadly, it's a bit blurry. My settings weren't just right here for my shaky hand.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I debated whether or not to post this, but it's just too funny not to share.

After I got out of the shower this morning I combed Anna's hair before getting myself dressed (because she was distracted, and that's always the best time)...

Anna: "I don't like your vagina, Mommy."

Me: "What don't you like about it, honey?"

Anna: "It's hairy."

Maybe she'd prefer a brazilian wax?

Reflections and Planning, 2011

Happy New Year! I'm feeling both renewed energy and complete overwhelm as the new year kicks off. For some reason, my post-holiday To-Do list is almost longer than my holiday version. Our "New Year Cards" still need to be addressed and sent, the 2010 flexible spending account needs to be reconciled, returns need to be made, donations need to be dropped off at the Salvation Army, and most importantly, goals need to be written.

I think I've been procrastinating this post, because I was nervous about looking back (did I achieve my goals?) and because I knew it would be hard for me to narrow down my goals for 2011. After writing it all down, though, I can see that I really did achieve most of the goals I set for myself. And, looking back on the blog, I can see (despite the sleep-deprivation and challenges of parenting a toddler) how much fun we've had, how much I've learned, and how much love surrounded us this year.

• I averaged 3 days per week of exercise, most weeks (definitely not all).
• We found an amazing (amazing!!) babysitter and friend to be with Anna at least one afternoon per week so I can take some time for myself.
• On that note, I've carved out much more time for myself in the second half of this year, including somewhat regular nights out with friends, reading at least one book per month, and the aforementioned exercise.
• I finally scheduled (at the end of the year) a photography lesson for myself for the first weekend in 2011.
• More sleep was high on my priority list last year, too. This seems to be one of those goals like balance. It's not a steady state to arrive at in this house; it ebbs and flows and has as much to do with external (or Anna's internal) factors that we cannot control as it has to do with the things we can control. We still have work to do here. We are learning a lot about those seemingly out of control factors, and this is going to help us make appropriate changes where we can (this will make an appearance in 2011's goals, I'm sure).
• I started a book club with my friend, Emily, and it is more than I ever imagined it would be (this, of course, goes along with more time reading and more time with friends).
• Finally, I did NOT achieve my goal of devoting one blog post per week to something inspiring, motivating, thought-provoking. If there is one thing I've learned in goal setting, it's this: sometimes you need to re-evaluate and re-think your goals. I liked the idea of this, but after a while, it just didn't feel right anymore. Goals should inspire you, and this one was weighing me down. I felt pressure to blog, to put something specific out there, and this has never been my intention with the blog, so I abandoned this goal.

This year I'm returning to the "Wheel of Life" to help me with my goals. I used this segmented circle in the past for life balance exercises. The wheel is divided into eight segments, one for each area of your life that you want to attend to. Within each area, I could set multiple goals, but realistically, I have to pick just a few. In addition, Blake and I are setting aside some time this weekend to set goals for our family and for us as a couple (like a regularly scheduled date night)!

Here are the eight areas with just a few of the things on my mental list:

• Family and Friends
• Money
• Health: Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
• Physical Environment
• Fun and Recreation: Devote at least 1 hour, on average, to sewing projects per week.
• Career and Life Purpose
• Spiritual Alignment/Personal Growth: 1) Integrate meditation into my daily routine, at least 10 minutes per day; 2) Find and regularly connect with a spiritual community; 3) Live with more intention, especially with respect to creating happiness and fun in our daily lives.
• Romance and Intimacy: (Blake and I will definitely cover this on the weekend).

There are other things on my mind for this year, too...big things, like finding a new house and moving; getting ready for another baby, and maybe even getting pregnant; finding a way to contribute and make a difference outside of our little family; changing some very old patterns of thinking and ways of being that no longer serve me or my family. There will likely be a lot of change this year. That may prove to be my biggest goal and accomplishment - navigating life's transitions with a little less stress and a little more calm. I'm hopeful.

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 in photos (because that's what I have the energy for tonight). I took mostly blurry pictures of three out of four of our Christmas celebrations, so I'm missing many happy moments. Thankfully, I have a one-on-one photography lesson with a local camera shop this weekend!

Christmas Morning...

Christmas morning at home, opening the infamous colorful ball and another favorite gift, Cord-y-roy.

Maybe one of the best gifts of all - a lollipop for breakfast!

Freshly self-painted toes with her new "green" nail polish. She requested yellow (huh!?), and wanted to apply both pink and yellow Christmas morning.

Then off to Papa and Mo J's, where we stayed for two nights...

Sledding all by herself!

I love this profile! (I have no idea why this is underlined).

Helping Papa beat Daddy at Cribbage.

After Tuesday night's all-nighter, we had a day to recuperate and pack, then we were off to Papa and Mo Mox's...

We celebrated Jessica's 60th birthday.

Just a great photo of Papa and Mo.

Josie opening presents on "Christmas morning."

More opening presents.

"Baby" Allison who's not such a baby anymore!

And, Ellie, who is growing up way too fast.

Play time with Aunt Lisa.

The WHOLE family. (Anna repeatedly declared "This is my WHOLE family!" the entire weekend).