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Simple Moments

September 6th, 2010

The hint of fall is definitely in the air here, and I found myself unable to sit inside yesterday and work, so I took the laptop outside and worked instead. It was wonderful and even though I found myself distracted several times, I did finally get everything finished and got dinner cooked for myself. Marcel was at Sunday dinner at his mom’s (I don’t go any longer because my allergies can’t handle the smoke smell from them smoking) and I had some time to myself.

Last night as the sun was going down, I decided to brew myself a cup of coffee and sit outside and enjoy the sunset. In the western skies the blue was so bright, and I noticed at one point that there were six planes flying through the sky. The ones flying in the western part of the sky were the ones I noticed most. The sun reflected on their vapor trail and it literally glowed a beautiful, bright white color. As the plane would move across the sky, the vapor trail would slowly dissipate and follow behind it. I found myself thinking about this man that goes to church with my parents. His name is Jack, and I remember him telling us several years ago that clouds come from airplane vapor trails. I couldn’t help but smile when I watched them move across the sky and slowly disappear. Sorry Jack, no clouds were formed.

It was a moment of simplicity. The cool, crisp air as the sun slowly made its way beyond the horizon, which would mean sunrise in another part of the world. The beauty of a bright blue sky and a vapor trail- of planes flying to destinations unknown. A cup of my favorite coffee and nothing but the sounds of the outdoors.

Simple, but yet so filled with peace and beauty.

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Wake Me Up..

September 2nd, 2010

Two days into the month and all I can say is that this song is how I feel today- Thankfully, tomorrow is another day.

A family that I’ve known a long time lost their only daughter today. A girl that I grew up with and even though I haven’t seen her in years- to hear that she died suddenly in her sleep was not what I expected to hear this afternoon. My heart is heavy and breaks for the Holder family.

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Such is Life

August 27th, 2010

Have you ever noticed that when you aren’t feeling well that it seems like that’s when your to-do lists are at their longest? Well, that certainly seems to be the case with me today. I have a list a mile long of jobs I need to get done, including some baking with the almond flour, but it looks like that’s all going to have to wait until I feel better. In the meantime, I have some leftover chicken soup heating on the stove and I’m getting ready to dig in.

Rest assured though, if I feel even remotely better, I’ll be making something with the almond flour- I’m extremely curious.

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Weird Weather

August 24th, 2010

I think we are having some of the weirdest weather I’ve ever seen. In addition to having minimal hurricane force winds for the past couple of days- one minute the sun is shining and the next it is literally pouring with hail falling everywhere.

Marcel, JJ and I took advantage of the lull in the storm so that we could let JJ do his ‘doggie bizness’ and also let him run and get out some of his excess energy. Trust me, you can tell by his behavior when this doesn’t happen. We got finished playing and I decided that we had to take the long way home (much to Marcel’s protests), even though I knew the bottom would probably fall out of the sky. It did. Marcel and JJ decided to stop and take shelter under a willow tree, along with a lady and her golden lab. I stayed with them until the lightening started- then I told them they were on their own. Needless to say, Marcel and JJ followed as I jetted out of there.

I actually thought it was funny and even as I type this, I’m soaking wet. I’m headed to the bath though to warm up. Between the wind and rain, I’m freezing. Twenty minutes later- the sun is shining. I’m sure it won’t last for long if the rest of the day is any indication of what’s to come. All you have to do is blink and you’ll see a weather change.

The silver lining is that at least I got a little running in- and JJ was right beside me the entire way.

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Blueberries, Blueberries and More Blueberries

August 17th, 2010

This past Saturday Marcel, Bobbi and I went on a blueberry picking adventure. There aren’t any farms in our immediate area, so we drove an hour and fifteen minutes so we could pick until our heart is content. I ended up picking a little over 9 pounds and Bobbi went home with a little over 10. We did all that in a little over an hour.

We weren’t the only ones there picking, but there were enough to go around for everyone. I brought them home, washed and packaged them and stuck them in the freezer. I plan to use them in my yogurt and also in muffins throughout the rest of the year.

After I shared about our adventure on my Facebook account, I made a mention to someone that I was going to look for a whole-wheat blueberry muffin recipe and probably make some in the near future. Oddly, no sooner than I posted that, I looked on the News Feed and saw that Betty Crocker had posted a great recipe for just that.

Some may consider it a coincidence, but not me. I was thrilled with the recipe and decided to share it with y’all today. I haven’t made them yet, and I’ll probably make some changes (like using Agave instead of honey and applesauce instead of the oil), but they really look great on their own.

Enjoy- At the end of this entry, you can find the link to the original recipe.

Whole Wheat-Blueberry Muffins

Whole wheat flour, a touch of honey and frozen organic blueberries star in classic blueberry muffins.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup fat-free (skim) milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
1 egg
1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 cup Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup Cascadian Farm® frozen organic blueberries (from 8-oz bag), do not thaw

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or place paper baking cup in each muffin cup. In small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
In large bowl, beat milk, oil, honey and egg with spoon. Stir in flours, baking powder and salt just until flours are moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (cups will be full). Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Nutritional Information

1 Serving :

Calories :

Total Fat :

Cholesterol : 20mg

Sodium : 230mg

Total Carbohydrate : 27g (Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 11g)

Protein : 3g

Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

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Note to Self- and Don’t forget 5 O’ Clock Friday’s.

August 13th, 2010

I don’t have a lot of time to write right now- but I wanted to remind y’all of 5 O’ Clock Friday’s, plus I wanted to jot down a few notes to myself so I’ll remember the things that I want to write about sometime this weekend or in the coming days. The list is growing and I really don’t want to forget.

5 O’ Clock Friday’s
Blueberry adventure
Street Swans
Living History Book- 4 hours with Kromwijk

I’m sure there are more things- but those are off the top of my head. I seriously am going to have to start keeping notes about blog topics. There are so many things that spark an idea but I seem to forget more than I retain these days-

Gotta dash before my bath water overflows.

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Sweet Little Lies

August 11th, 2010

I was watching something on television this morning, which said that studies have shown that men lie on average of 6 times per day, and women lie on average 3 times a day. I actually found this statistic very interesting and wonder what the biggest lie is that you’ve ever told?

I’m still trying to decide if I actually have the nerve to share mine or not- I honestly try not to lie, but many, many years ago I told a BIG one that I’ve never forgotten. I was 21 at the time, and there are times when I do think about it.

Don’t worry- none of you reading this should worry if it was you that I told this big lie to- it was actually to an old boyfriend. Quite truthfully, at the time I felt justified, but that was probably because in those days I felt revenge was sweet. These days- I feel differently. I guess I’ve gotten more ‘wiz’dom as I’ve gotten older. Thank goodness for that.

So who dares share their biggest lie, or even a little one?

The study also says that in spite of parents telling their children not to lie- they actually teach them to do just that in certain instances. Do you agree or disagree?

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Today at a Glance

August 10th, 2010

I have so much going on that I’d like to write about, but I still have a few emails to respond to, plus I need to get to bed at some sort of decent time. I did make it to the funeral yesterday, and quite truthfully- it wiped me out. My better judgement told me not to go, but I couldn’t get over the feeling that I couldn’t send Marcel alone- so I went. It has affected me deeply on levels that are difficult for me to describe.

Tomorrow is a new day though, and I’m hoping it will be a good one. In spite of feeling as though I’ve been hit by a truck- my day was a good one. It brought me a day surrounded by good friends and that’s always a blessing.

In other unrelated news- I’m planning to give some stuff away in some random drawings as the holidays draw nearer. I’ve got some ideas, but if anyone wants to get some free advertising- I’d be happy to give away some of YOUR products to a lucky winner. Of course, you’ll have to send something to me too, because I can’t give away something I don’t personally endorse, but it will be fun.

So, if you’d like to get in on the upcoming give away’s and would like me to help get the word out about a new product- drop me a note at lori in care of this website (simplywizardress.com) and we’ll see what we can cook up together. I’ve already got a few ideas of my own, and I’m looking forward to sharing them as the holiday’s get closer.

Watch this space for more details.

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Bait and Switch-

August 8th, 2010

I was noticing this morning when I was out walking my favorite (and only) pup that the days are starting to get a little cooler and shorter. Of course this means that even though we are almost half way through August (how did that happen?), it won’t be long before winter is upon us. I definitely plan to get my hot air balloon ride in before that happens, plus I still have a lot of trips to the beach planned as well.

I love summer fruits and vegetables. The ones in the winter are great too, but a different kind of great- more in a comfort food kind of way. I decided this afternoon that I believe zucchini has taken the place of broccoli as being my favoite summer vegetable. That’s a good thing considering I’ve eaten it the last three days.

I’m in the process of switching some things around in my life so that I can better utilize my time. I tend to like things in a certain way with a little surprise tossed in the mix every now and then, but when things stop working, it’s time for change. It’s going to mean me getting up earlier and I’m not thrilled about that fact, considering I’m not a morning person, but it should make a huge difference in the things I’m wanting to change. Time will tell.

Tomorrow, a funeral. This has been a bad year in my life for people passing away. I honestly don’t want to go, and told Marcel I wouldn’t go, because it’s my normal work time, but I felt guilty for sending him alone, so I’m going. I know funerals aren’t easy for anyone, but if I’m not careful they can send me into a tailspin and I don’t want that to happen. I can’t help but think of Carol. I do that a lot these days. My emotions are still pretty raw when it comes to that and I still can’t verbalize my feelings adequately. Maybe one day.

Right now, I think i’ll have a cup of coffee.

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Absence

July 31st, 2010

I’ve been mostly absent in my little blogging world for the past week and I’m sorry about that. As you know, I’ve been dealing with the vertigo and I’ve been so tired on top of it that when I’m not working, I’m resting.

Unfortunately that has also meant that I’ve fallen behind on so much that my blogs have suffered, along with the housework. I’m still very tired and dizzy, but I’m trying to push through and do a little catching up. I tend to feel stressed when all my proverbial ducks aren’t in a row, so I’m trying to catch up before the new week begins.

I do have much to talk about, so hopefully this coming week will find me much more productive.