Magic

     Last night was the first in about 27 years that I felt the magic of Christmas.  It was just G and me hanging out and cooking and eating and later pouring some Jager down our throats; I was happy, content and at ease knowing I was exactly where I wanted to be (before the Jager hit me).  Texting my little sis as well as talking to her on the phone, she was expressing the energy my nephew was showing waiting for Santa to get to Utah and to his house.  Hearing him in the background as we chatted on the phone, I felt his energy!  In fact, I am certain some of his energy did travel at mach speed through the cellular signals and hit me.

     She was using a Santa tracker to know of his last spotted country, state, and city; I asked where he was last spotted, she replied "South America", it was then I felt the magic come through me again.  The same magic I felt when I was a little girl on Christmas Eve watching the local news anchors track Santa and unveil where he was last spotted.  I can still hear my parents saying, "Santa won't come to our house if you kids are still up!"  And once we were snuggled in bed, or not snuggled because our excitement ran through out legs down to our feet and kept kicking the covers off of us, they would yell at us from the kitchen or living room, "You girls be quite and go to sleep!"  Giggles rippled in between our beds as our laughing became muffled in our pillows so they wouldn't yell again!

     For many years, ever since I was 13, I have made Christmas a holiday of obligation.  Others are obligated to buy for another, and the price of the gift has to be substantial or the person you are giving to will know it did come from your heart.  Whatever that means.  Year after year I have been prying myself away from this scene, a scene I do not believe in; go broke buying up items that may or may not be remembered in a year to people who you may or may not see again in a year, just to make another person smile at you, to make another person give you a gift.  I like to buy gifts, don't get me wrong, I like to show others how much I appreciate them but I don't go overboard and I don't spend money I don't have.  No gift, one gift - perfect!    

     "He's in Nova Scotia!..." was the next text she sent to me, and it was not long after the South America text; Santa moves magically quick.  When she told me he was in Baltimore the wave of excitement hit me again as I was trying to envision my nephew jumping off the walls, literally I am certain, that Santa was hours away from us.  My sis is trying to get him to bed so he is asleep when Santa arrives but his excitement was too great, and because I was feeling it too, I told her that I am on his side and he should stay up a little longer...because it is Christmas Eve after all.

     Finally she got him to bed but not yet asleep, as he began knocking on the walls still exerting his excitement for Santa to arrive and leave behind foreknowing gifts.  The magic of being, the magic of knowing, the magic of believing!

Merry Christmas!  

Fresh Pineapple

I am getting crazy in the kitchen! Sliced up my 1st pineapple! Tasty one...

Christmas Eve Dinner

     Oh the dinner we ate last night was one of my best meals yet...in my opinion.  Awhile back I purchased Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes cookbook.  Besides flipping through pages and drooling on a few photographs of dishes, the book has not been used much in the way of preparing and cooking a delicious dish, until last night.  The Naked Chef's Tray Baked Chicken recipe was the one I choose to make, but I made slight changes from his version yet still created a masterpiece.  

     A couple tender chicken breasts lay on a thin bed of olive oil, a generous sprinkling of paprika and some oregano while a pat of butter rested on each breast. The brussel sprouts drizzled in olive oil and rosemary salt (yep, rosemary flavored sea salt) and pepper baking in the oven.  Red potatoes quartered and softening in the boiling water seasoned with rosemary.  Once the chicken and potatoes were done on the stove top, I stuck them into the oven on low boiler setting for ten minutes.  The chicken laid with a quartered lemon and a few bay leafs drizzled with olive oil while the potatoes in their own roasting pan were drizzled with olive oil, rosemary salt and pepper, slightly mashed yet still whole in their own quartered section.

     The chicken was tender, juicy and flavorful, the potatoes were flavorful with the right amount of softness not over done and the brussel sprouts were buttery delicious even though I didn't use butter.  In all, it probably took me 30 minutes start to finish to make this and the clean up was not bad at all.  Why, again, do I have a difficult time stepping both feet into the kitchen to create and be creative?

     I do know that I need to not only read recipes but to throughly read through them and think through all the steps needed to complete before I begin tossing ingredients together.  G is so right, it is all about the timing of the foods; you can't have the chicken over cooked while waiting for the potatoes to finish cooking.  Good thing there was no waiting on any item and each item turned out perfectly...again, in my opinion.

     Damn it, I ought to have taken a photo of my masterpiece...guess I will have to make it again to get that delicious photo and have you all drooling in your keyboard just as I drool in this tantalizing cookbook.

On the go

I now have blogger on my phone, with the intension of posting more.

Spirals and Water

On our walk today we came upon a puddle, a frozen puddle, yet this is distinct from any other frozen puddle because of the design it has taken on.  Look at the spiral inside, so perfect, so beautiful, so unique.  

  

  

The End or the Beginning of a Year

     The end of the world or the beginning of a new year.  I choose the beginning of a new year.  There is far too much to accomplish before the end of the world, like completing just seven more classes for my Bachelors of Arts, and starting out in my new career, and searching for the right training to become a certified yoga instructor, and to play and laugh and love.  See, far too many things to accomplish before the next two days.  

     This is the time of year where several of us are beginning to think of our New Year's Resolutions.  It has been almost a decade where I have not participated in this yearly tradition; don't get me wrong, I set goals and I set paths into achieving my goals, but I refuse to use one day each year to declare them.  That said, my goals are clarified daily, weekly, with each semester, for the next year, for the next five years, for the next ten years (okay, I really haven't gone ten years out yet).  And I try to be creative with my goals, not to just say "I want to lose 15 pounds." or "I will eat healthier."  In truth, it has been about a decade when I quit using those as my goals because it seemed to fail for me, instead I reproach this by stating, "I will practice yoga two times a week and run two times this week."  Four days out of seven makes it easier to accomplish instead of looking at it as one week down but 360 more days to go.  Basically, look at each day or each week as it comes and not focus on an entire year.  If you focus too far out, stress creeps in quickly if you skip a day, then 20 more days go by because of guilt, it builds and compiles.  You see where I am going with this, you have most likely been down this path a time or two.

                                                                                    by Pithless Thoughts: Annotated...

     Here is my proposal to you, why not this be the year for your New Year's Resolution stating you will not make big, lofty goals for a year out when you can accomplish much more each week.  Besides, it is more satisfying when you complete goals weekly and to look back a year from now to feel, see and touch all your accomplished goals.

     A few ideas I have been kicking around in my head are to take photos daily, yet in my reality, I ought to declare one photo a week, this way I can be sure to obtain it; choose a buzz word for me and use it within my circles weekly, weekly sounds easy but I do not want to put extra stress on myself so I will declare to choose a buzz word monthly; since I enjoy writing, I will write about a color weekly, but with my class schedule I am sure to miss quite a few, so I declare to write about a color monthly.  By creating goals outside the overly used, "I will lose weight," "I will exercise," I will eat better."yada yada yada, you are motivating your mind and body to paint outside the box, pink looks so much better on the left of the line anyway.

     How will I remember all of my goals floating in my noggin?  First I will write them in my nifty notebook I carry pretty much everywhere...collects my thoughts, ideas, phrases, music, stories I saw happen or stories I have conjured in my head.  Also, I have recently found StickK.com, it is a genius of a website where you write down what your goals are, you choose a time period to accomplish your goal or goals, and they hold you accountable by 1) reminding you to report your success or not, each week, and 2) having you put money on the line - if you fail to accomplish your weekly goal, you send $X to a friend or charity.  Say I want to exercise more, I choose the program or the desired weight, the time period and the person who gets my said choice of money each week I fail.  Why should you fail a week if you are going to pay someone $X?  Again, just looking at the days ahead, not adding unhealthy stress for the months and year ahead.  As Bob Wiley says, "Baby Steps, baby steps." (What About Bob).  And if you forget about an idea before writing it down or performing it out, no worries, you have plenty of other ideas swimming around waiting to be noticed.              

     So to this I say, here is an terrific end to a new beginning!  Släinte!

Run

This morning I finally hit the pavement again after a couple weeks away.  It is easy to skip a long, or short, run on these cold days.  Right before I headed out I downloaded the Nike+Running app on my phone and thought once pushing the "Start Run" button it start counting my time and distance...being the first to this nifty app, I ought to have read more because it wanted to know more details to my run, like if I was running indoors or out, if I wanted music and cheers.  Ya, didn't get that far in the app.  Next run for sure though I am continuing through the process before prancing away up the road.

My run was awesome though, from "Runners World (www.runnersworld.com)" they mentioned having coffee an hour before your run since the natural caffeine will keep your rhythm going and stamina up, and since I read that while sipping my hot coffee I decided to try it out.  Sure as hell it works!  I had energy, just as much as when I chew on a few of those energy shots, and no side stitches people!  Going to try this trick again.  Maybe tomorrow morning if I can get my butt out of bed early.  If not then maybe on Wednesday.

The only thing I need to mend is the horrific pain on the bottom of my right foot; ball and smaller toes are in constant pain, felt better to run then when I paced myself now and then with walking.  If you have any tips for this, please send them.

Cheers!

Baby Elephants Sold to Abusers

Elephants are some of the greatest creatures on Earth, their gentle strength, their love for every elephant in their family, their dances, their knowledge..okay, everything about these beautiful animals is awesome!  So why does man want to control them, own them?  For profit, bottom line.  Elephant babies stay with their mothers for life, the family continues to grow as each generation gives birth to more elephants.

The recent controversy of the newest born elephant in Oregon's zoo who is in fact "property" of Have Trunk WIll Travel.  The business deals of zoos and animal abusers behind closed gates.  Am I wrong to think that zoos are there for the animals to provide a safe home, safe from poachers, safe from extinction  safe from the ill hands of man?  Or I am still naive to think that we as humans can grow and evolve into kind creatures, seeking the best for the greater good.

The article I am reading this morning is from Care2, Sad Future in Entertainment for One Baby Elephant, from this article is a wonderful quote, hopefully it grabs you like it did me.  

If zoos actually cared about elephants they would contribute to real conservation efforts instead of wasting fortunes on breeding programs and enclosures that will never be adequate for an animal that should be roaming miles every day with the ability to explore landscapes and choose their own companions.

I believe that sums up a lot of what I think and looks like others think as well.  How can we stand up against the pockets of money to stop this from happening...ever?  If only we could capture the business people behind this contract, chain them to a small enclosure so they can only sway and not walk, bullhook them when they talk out of place and make them stand in their own shit for hours or days.  Damn good idea I say!

(photo courtesy of Care2.com)
 

Need Music for Running

Call it procrastination or lazy, the idea of making a playlist seems challenging, or boring, not sure which one.  But pandora plays five songs over and over and over and over...I thought there was more music out there.  Silly me.  Anyway, came across this playlist and may have to try it: 60-Minute Running Playlist.

If you have any suggestions, I am open for them; looking for more motivation on the road.

Badass Self

I have recently found another awesome website and I am addicted to it!  The contributors are excited to tell readers their favorite foods, different ways in dealing with stress, or how to look inside.  Article after article I have not yet been disappointed   Those who follow me on Twitter know how many articles I share, for some reason I feel strong to share this article here.

10 Ways to Become Your Most Badass Self

I am sure we have have all heard this before but to accept what is being said, truly feeling what the message is, it is then we get excited and put thoughts into actions.

...Finals Are Upon Me; Therefore...

It is about this time during a semester when I start to get the "what am I doing with my life" itch; three maybe four months of intense studying and attendance, feeling the heavy haul about to be lifted for a couple weeks and my mind races with questions and certainty to uncertainty.  Is this because I know there is more to what I can do or is it because I feel I have been confounded for months and I need to break free?  Either way, the time is here and the questions are popping out of my mind.

"I can do what she/he is doing."  "I want to do what she/he is doing."  So on and so on.  So why don't I dive in and indulge myself in what I WANT TO DO?  Fear.  Embarrassment.  Ridicule.  Negative people discouraging me with negative words.  

Instead of fearing of what others will say to me or behind me I need to embrace my being and fully embrace what I WANT.  Yes, I am yelling, really yelling at myself.

There are so many paths I want to encounter in my career, not many play into the next but they are something I wish to accomplish; corporate social responsibility  food critic (not that I am no longer a vegetarian this will become more open (sorry, no pigs are invited)), author, animal advocate, healthy living, yoga, running, reading to be a better author, food critic, CSR...  I will fully embrace myself into every aspect of these topics and succeed.

What I need now are the nay sayers in my head and in my world to stop and either be behind me or leave (how to properly rid of nay sayers in head?).    

Tone, context, content,

If I don't put risk into what I want, than I will risk more than imagined.

Foundations

I found this poem on another's site admiring his art rock work (www.gravityglue.com), and for some reason, this of the several he has on his website truly grabbed my attention.

Foundations

"In many shamanic societies, if you came to a shaman or medicine person complaining of being disheartened  dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four question. 

-When did you stop dancing? 

-When did you stop singing? 

-When did you stop being enchanted by stories? 

-When did you stop finding comfort in the sweet territory of silence? 

Where we have stopped dancing, singing  being enchanted by stories, or finding comfort in silence is where we have experienced the loss of soul. 

Dancing, singing, storytelling, and silence are the four universal healing salves."

~Gabrielle Roth 

E-Waste Hell

Discussing the adverse affects on e-waste in one of my classes, another student shared this video with us: E-Waste Hell.  I encourage you to watch as there are surprising facts about where our old tv's, laptops, computers and several other electronic items go when we are through with them.

My Perfect Day

Walk into the office, turn the lamp on lowest setting while squinting my eyes, swivel my chair a quarter of a turn to easily slid into it, swivel back toward computer screen, turn on the computer and wait mere seconds to load up my previous work from the night before.  Click on my emails, read through the "From" section on the new ones as a grin reaches across my cheeks.  The Smart Cookies are asking me what my perfect day would be.  This is easy, I have a couple perfect day scenarios.  Open the email to read the rest but only skim through the contents of the email before returning to the others.  No time to read each and response so I stuff my laptop into my backpack, zip it closed and ready for when I head off to school.  

It wasn't until Friday, three days later, that I reopened this email and fully read it.  Again, a couple answers came to mind with almost each question asked.  I grab my CAN (catch all notebook, Brook Noel) and write down each question; I want to find these questions and my answers months, years to come.  I will type the questions and my response.  

My perfect day.  What would I do?  How would I feel? 

Scenario: It is Friday morning, still need to go to work.  

1) What time do I wake?  How am I feeling as I face the day? 

     I awake at 6am, sun is thinking about rising or has risen a little.  I am feeling refreshed and excited      

     for the day ahead, a quick yoga practice is going to solidify my feelings.  I am calm, collected, 

     ready to make decisions.  

2) Where am I?  If home, what does it look like? 

    I am home, about 20 miles outside of a large city in a quiet neighborhood where the neighbors are 

    good to have around and keep out of my personal business.  My one story house is moderate sized

    and open; brick outside and inside on a few walls in my bedroom, kitchen and living room. All 

    rooms within the house are larger than normal to provide space necessary for people, pets and 

    furniture as we entertain often and love not having to around pets and furniture.  

3) Who is with me?  People, pets? 

    The love of my life is with me, continuing to sleep, now wrapped up in all the covers, hiding from 

    the sunlight coming through the window outside of the bedroom.  The dogs, one, two or three of 

    them, are stretching their legs and darting out of the bedroom heading toward the back door to 

    the large backyard where they spend time as I prepare my coffee.    

4) What are my activities this day? 

    My activities consist of practicing yoga, sipping on coffee while reading my personal emails, 

    feeding the dogs, preparing breakfast and lunch, work - making decisions, contacts and 

    opportunities, preparing dinner and enjoying it with my love.   

5) What kind of work do I undertake and with whom?  Consider the qualities I want in the work I do, including the ideal workplace environment. 

    I am in the business of environmental and social responsibility and traveling worldwide for it, in the 

    business of consulting for LEED specifics, in the business of writing books, and touring for their 

    release as well as a yoga teacher at a small studio near my home.  My workplace environment is 

    vibrant, busy, open to all communication, getting tasks accomplished with a team effort.  This work 

    is performed in an office building lit with natural light, powered by natural resources, and holds like 

    minded people and enthusiasts. 

6) As I head to work, what am I wearing and how do I look? 

    I am dressed in a dark business suit pencil skirt with a light shirt and a colorful scarf along with 

    killer heels, because heels mean business; my hair is pulled up at the sides so it looks as if my hair is 

    down but it remains out of my face so my colleagues and clients can see my eyes and my intentions 

    clearly.    

7) When and where do I work and how do I get there? 

    I work a pretty normal 8-4 or 9-5 for my responsibility side of business, consulting hours for LEED 

    business and on my spare time for writing and publishing.  I get to all activities in my electric car or 

    when traveling across the nation or world, by plane, train, and cab.  

8) When work is done, what do I do with my spare time? 

    I practice and teach yoga, I run, cook, read, and spend time with great friends whether eating, 

    drinking wine, hiking, canyoneering, or learning to knit.  

9) Who do I spend my time with and how do they relax? 

    

     I spend my time with the love of my life!  We communicate freely without t.v., we walk, hike, go 

     camping and canyoneering.  When the busy is done, a book is opened as the night falls.  

10) What is my evening like?  What do I eat for dinner?  Who am I with? 

     My evening is full of playing with the dogs, preparing a tasty dinner, opening a new bottle of wine, 

     listening to my love's day, walking the dogs, and not to forget to watch Bill Maher's HBO weekly 

     show.  Dinner is a big bowl of creamy pasta with garlic bread and a spinach salad. 

11) As my day winds down, what am I grateful for?  What am I excited about as I drift off to sleep?  What am I looking forward too? 

    I am grateful for the sun rising, for the dogs excited to rise with the sun and explore their new day. 

    I am grateful for my jobs, contributing to the world, making it better when I can.  I am grateful to 

    wake up next to my love and grateful to spoon with him each night, his arms wrapped around me.  

    I am grateful for the opportunities I have created.   

There is my perfect day!  Doing what I love, making the necessary choices in life to better me, my family and my society.  The trick here is getting to my dream jobs; on my way yes but want to be there today...yesterday.  

All of my dreams are possible, yet some of them require money, like my house or my electric car.  The ability to feed me, my love, and our many dogs.  Yet, my dreams here are not far away, I have a feeling they are closer to me than I think.  They are here, before the horizon meets my eyes.

 

Best Damn Chicken Enchiladas

Is there one activity in your life that you wished you were not so intimidated with?  My intimidation is cooking.  My sisters and brother have been able to rope this up and turn it into an easy process; yet, for one reason or another the stove, pans, and utensils mock my intentions and if I do let them get under my skin, they win - my creation ruined.  I dream of being a pro in the kitchen, to walk in, stand legs barely hip distance apart, hand on hips - leaning more to my left side, scan the area and start my actions to conquer the mocking and to prove to myself that this task, this activity is not as bad as I think.  

In passing I have mentioned to G that I have made (yes, past tense) tasty chicken enchiladas.  Then a few days ago I said I wanted to make them again.  A shopping trip later there are my ingredients for chicken enchiladas.  Earlier today I did some searching on the internet for a great recipe since I vaguely remember mine to taste...a little bland, perhaps because I boiled the chicken in unflavored water (I hear your cringes now, quiet it down before the utensils hear you and they mock me again).   I binged (bing.com) "best damn chicken enchiladas" and one of the few top caught my eye so I clicked on it, read the ingredients, the "how-to" and thought this would be a delicious one to try.  But before reading everything I notice the site name, blog name and the ingeniunity of it, which made my desire to pro kick ass this kitchen mocking to grow and create my own blog for recipes I make with a catchy, fun name.  Thanks to pinkparsley there was no mocking, no spitting food back into my face, no missed ingredients that failed... her recipe was a surefire for success!

If you know me and my relationship with recipes, I need to read, reread, and reread a recipe, then as I begin to make the dish I reread again and of course throughout the process.  There have been many times that I have forgotten to include an ingredient in several dishes; you got it, I am super special!  And yes, I did tangle a couple items up from this recipe but it didn't matter because my tangled version was mouth watering delicious!

There were just a few things extra I needed for this recipe, like an onion, a jalapeño and a can of tomato sauce, I ran to the store several hours before I needed them so I wouldn't cut time short.  Throughout the day I imagined this process taking at least two hours so when I started it at 7:30pm I stressed a little because G was going to be home not long after 8pm and starving, I was sure.  I know when I am hungry, waiting sucks!  Several people will confirm this and they may have colorful words to replace my "waiting sucks".  Anyway, 7:30 is here so I get things chopping, sautéing, cooking, simmering then  what do you know, I am minutes away from plopping all the ingredients into the tortillas to be filled with cheese, rolled tight then topped with more cheese and tossed into the oven for 20 minutes.  Whew!    We didn't have to wait long at all, it wasn't much longer than 30 minutes when he walked in the door to us sitting down and trying out my new creation.

First bite and I was sold on this recipe, G said it was delicious also!  Next time though, there will need to be more chicken in each tortilla, he says.  Easy to add in more.  Also for the next time I make this, I will add more cumin and chili powder and less sugar (I was excited a recipe not named dessert wanted me to add sugar).  Maybe more than 15 oz of tomato sauce (but not 30, that would become soupy, right?).  Oh, maybe add a couple seeds from the jalapeño.

Take that stove, take that pans, take that utensils, soon you will have nothing on me because step by step, storm by storm, I will conquer and you will oblige.

Happy kitchen time and cheers!

Angela

Here is the recipe I found and my version :)

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce
adapted from Tide and Thyme, orginally from America's Test Kitchen

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 3 medim cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 large beefsteak tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
• 1 cup extra sharp white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
• cooking spray
• salt and ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and oil in a large saucepan. cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions and peppers have softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, less than 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.  Here I added stock, simmered for 10 minutes then transfered only the chicken into a simmering tomato sauce with more spices and  sugar and simmered maybe another 10 minutes. 

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through (thickest part reaches 160 degrees), about 12-20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.

Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add to the onin mixture, and add 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheese, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly (skip this step if you don't like the crunch).

Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, additional cilantro, etc.




 

The Truth Is...

Ziggy Marley: Got To Be True To Myself

Love this song, need to remember the words more often!

Thanksgiving...the Old-Fashioned Way

"I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land."

                                                                                                                                     ~ Jon Stewart

Sticker Loot

In my younger years, ten, 11 maybe 12 (perhaps earlier) I would frequent the Hallmark store in Trolley Square retail center, Salt Lake City at least every week, usually on Friday's after school.  Once I got the courage to sweet talk my dad into $20 (like it was ever a task).  Back then $20 was gold! Each week I was either with some friends or by myself (can you image walking by yourself to Trolley Square today...at 10?!)  One of my most favorite stores to rush into was Hallmark.  The allure of stickers on rolls!  Yes people, stickers on rolls and the rolls were huge and the amount of rolls on top of another continued.  Wax paper city graffitied by stickers to fit an array of personalities and ages.  I was a collector of fine stickers.

That's right, a collector.  I would select my findings with time and patience, then trim the wax paper leaving a fine line in between the stickers...when I say "fine line" I emphasis my non-straight lines that today I still choose to cut, and for this story we will call it my artistic cut.  There was always more than one sticker purchased each week; if I can remember right, it was a loot full of stickers, five, ten, 20.  No, I didn't spend the entire $20 on stickers...I think.  But it was a great margin of my money going toward their profits.  Close your eyes and envision me skipping through Trolley Square with my bag full of stickers and a huge grin upon my face!

The best was when my eldest sister worked there, it was two bonus' in one fun filled trip!  To see my sister out of home life, see pride behind her inviting smile, and then to browse through the stickers!  This was a skilled art you see, not many had the patience to turn the huge wheel of wax paper with art stuck to it, one inch wide and, in my ten year old mind, 500 feet of stickers rolled up.  She also worked at Taco Bell sometime in this story line...loved Taco Bell back then, "Bean and Cheese Burrito with no Onions."  Picky then and a pickaterian today.  Back to the story...

I frequented another Hallmark today as I waited for my car tires to be worked on; sadly, I did not find stickers on rolls upon rolls of wax paper.  Instead, it was 10 hideous stickers, all the same, packaged into one.  Where did the creativity go with being able to choose 10 different designs?  Now the marketers think the kids today, or adults, want all of one the same thing...not using their own heads to come up with what they desire.  I know what I want, I want the rolls of stickers back!

Vera Bradley and hopefully soon Curly Girl Design, but no rolls.  What has this world come too?  Ah, you wait, with my persistence and persuasiveness  the marketers will come back and it will be like Madonna coming out with Material Girl again.

I am perplexed as to where my coveted stickers ended up?  I am sure I had bags and boxes full of stickers, but where are they today?  Sure I put a sticker on a book here or a sticker on a pencil there but for the most of their lives they stayed on their wax paper, pristine.

Who Are You?

Had to re-post this photo again...being Halloween and all ;) Inspired by the photographers who seems as if they have braved the unknown to capture our imaginations through their work.  When the Woods Are Scary

It is still so surreal being there that day, at that moment, to capture through the lens of my camera an object, a light, a ball of light moving towards me.  Up until this day, only talked about as something that few get to witness.  Such a magical experience.  I do remember standing there for sometime after, watching, waiting, clicking; Rose eventually got antsy of being still when there was much more ground to cover and sniff, so we moved on.

The next few days following I would stop, click, click, click and wait...nothing.  Oh I wish to have gone there my last day in Massachusetts and to once again have my camera capture such an amazing moment.  All of my moments in Massachusetts and at this park were amazing, yet to experience - I want to say spiritual here - what I did this day is a great gift.  

To the unknown!  Happy nonHaunting!

To All Women...And Everyone!

Make your voice heard!  this is personal

Thank you to all the women in and behind this video and to Jason Alexander!

Embrace

Embrace yourself.  Embrace what you are dealing with.  What does embrace mean to you?  I had it all wrong before today.  Today I realized that embracing something, whether it be yourself, your career, your hobbies, it is about having faith...in yourself.  My faith in myself hasn't been the highest lately, therefore, some of my goals and passions have been shadowed by obstacles and fears.  I do think expressing myself after truly listening to the vulnerability talk has helped this notion into my thinking process, and I am okay to put blame on it.

A few more things I feel vulnerable about: my school work and study habits, my relationship, my passions, my goals, my family, my writing style, my imperfections.  For example; yesterday, while spending the day prepping for a new color on the walls in the bathroom, wearing pants that are a bit too snug on me and shirt I no longer find attractive, to finally pouring the paint into a recyclable tray, rolling the yellow round brush into the glob of blue paint and then having enormous amounts of fun making the change of yuck yellow to vibrant blue, my mind was bouncing around from my insecurities to the shape I have allowed my body to be and not okay with this one bit, to the shape of my mind, to what I have to do tomorrow, next week, next hour, to what I want to do but then my have to's sneak back in from behind and say "no way, you can't enjoy yourself with what you want to do until you have completed me".  I am sure, okay I hope, that most of us get on such a merry-go-round from time to time, but what I want to figure is how to embrace these running thoughts, these insecurities, these vulnerabilities before they get to big.

While practicing yoga this morning while random thoughts and feeling come and go it hit me, embracing me or  a project or an obstacle is having faith.  The faith that I alone am the only one who can act on these issues and projects.  The faith that whatever the outcome it was me who made it happen.  Embracing me is having faith in me.  Embracing my life is having the faith in me that I will make my life how I see it in my mind.

Here is to today and a new venture of making all that I want to happen, happen!

Vulnerability and Me

What makes you feel vulnerable?  There is list in front of me with my vulnerabilities, I will share them later with you.  Before they are revealed, I want to share with you a Ted Talk I have just watched me for my second time, TedTalks Brene Brown.  The first time I watched it I listened, I nodded my head, and was caught mumbling, "yes, I do that to myself."  Then closed the window from which it was being played.  But it wasn't until this second time that I said, "Oh my god, I am afraid of being vulnerable."  Then began writing some words Brene was saying, clicking the mouse a little to the left from the end of the red line while the video continued to play, brining it back to the spot I was still stuck on.

Here is what I wrote: Shame and fear.  What are mine?  How am I going to conquer them?  What is my self-worthiness?   What is my strong sense of belonging and love?  As Brene continued to talk I continued to quote her in my catch all notebook (CAN Brook Noel), "I am worthy of love and belonging!"  "I am worthy of connection!"  In her speech she noted from her research what most people had in common, courage, compassion, connection, and vulnerability, and these I noted on as well.  As all four focused my attention inward, it wasn't until she said, "Fully embraced vulnerability, they believed that what made them vulnerable made them beautiful."  The combined words here struck a loud cord inside me as I have struggled far too long from the items on my list of vulnerabilities.

It is clear to me that I need to conquer my fears, first to fully write them out then to tackle them one by one (trying my old technique of tackling them five by three has failed one two many times).  How am I going to feel once I conquer the first one my list?  Will this empowerment (hoping this is what I feel) take me forward to the next on my list?  However I get to each vulnerability on my list, knowing that I can acknowledge them and construct them in a way for change, means that I have come further than a year ago, five years ago, 20 years ago.  I can't wait to see how much I have been able to change my life, my vulnerabilities  my outcome by writing and acknowledging.

A few of my vulnerabilities are being critiqued of my writing, yes!  I love to write, I love to express my feeling through words on a screen and paper, yet I feel vulnerable when people close in my life read what I type, what I post, the words fit into a greeting card, or how I construct a few words together.  Wow, look at me here expressing so much.

Another is getting to close to people.  So many great, wonderful, loving, and horrible people have come and gone from my life and all have left enormous tracks on my heart and soul; many have left without explanation, few I have left them with no explanation.  Many have left while their cold, hard rock left their hand, flying towards me; then, it finally hits and the pain enters again.

You want another one?  Courage.  Standing in front of a mirror.  Now that my teeth look fabulous (thank you Dr. Berg) I like more mirrors a lot more. But I am imperfect.  My body is imperfect.  I will have the courage to stand in front of any mirror (yes, even the dreadful retail store mirrors) and love every imperfect mark and bulge on my body.

Another?  No silly, its your turn to share.  Tell me what your vulnerabilities are.  What makes you go numb to vulnerable actions?

"I am enough!"

Cheers to my vulnerable people ;)

Mr. Rogers

Ha, this comedy clip will have you giggling for days!  If it doesn't...well, hmmm, did you not grow up with Mr. Rogers in your neighborhood?  Jimmy Fallon as Mr. Rogers

Body Language

Watch this talk on TedTalk about body language and how to empower each self by doing a simple action each day, maybe a few times a day.  Hearing the results from this action has prompted me to do it...soon see results.  Let me know what you think of this talk.

Body Language - TedTalks

Beautiful OXB

A bit late, but here are finally some other photos from our vacation in North Carolina.

Sailors capture spectacular footage of rare dolphin super pod encounter

Amazing video of spectacular animals!

Sailors capture spectacular footage of rare dolphin super pod encounter

Wake Up

This video is profound and the lyrics are catchy: wtfup

Have You Ever Seen the Sun Rise on the Ocean?

     Another gorgeous sunny morning in OBX, this one starts minutes before a magnificent sunrise above the ocean. Someone made this morning better than the others so far; my phone alarm is buzzing at 6am, time to get up, find my running clothes, empty my bladder, take a big drink of water all the while continuously asking Greg if he is getting up to watch the sunrise and take photos of it.  He does make it out of bed but very unmotivated.  The sun is to rise at 6:21am according to wundergrounds website, my second alarm starts buzzing at 6:15am...time to head out, walk the small distance to the beach and find a great spot to watch something I have never watched before, the sun rise above the ocean!  I start to put my running shoes on but quickly remembered my solitude run yesterday without shoes; the shoes came off quicker than putting them on.  

     

     It was then Greg said he hates mornings (no new news here) and he doesn’t have the energy to see the sun rise and drag his Nikon to the beach for it.  With his words I start to fell a pinch inside but knew it was his decision and I could not act of outside of my dignity and show my disappointment.  With a smile I tell him to go back to bed as I still was settled on seeing the sun rise.  He crawls back into the noisy and not so comfortable bed pulling the sheet and comforter on top of him as I grab my iPhone, carrier and sunglasses and sneak out of our sliding door which leads me past the maze of chaise lounges, past the pool, and through the wood gate where I am walking on the sandy and grassy path to the wooden walk and stairs which drops off at one of the most amazing places my eyes have seen.  

     The first person I pass is a lady sitting atop the stairs, she was mesmerized by the rising sun I think I startled her a bit, the next person was a man walking his dog, the dog saw me coming, acted as if he wanted to meet me but his owner wasn’t acting the same.  I look straight ahead to the East and get excited, more excited than when my alarm went off at 6.  It hasn’t fully risen yet.  I look to my left and there are a few people standing on the beach full body toward the East, there are a few fisher people setting up for the their next few hours of waiting for the bite of the fish on the end of their line.  Joggers and walkers concentrated on their regime yet glancing to the East every few seconds.  I take my iPhone out of the carrier and charge up the camera icon and immediately start pressing the capture button.  Photo after photo the large red and yellow glow starts becoming a great light, then it starts forming a brilliant ball of orange and yellow and red, all mixed into one, yet all distinct colors of themselves.  

     I continue snapping photos of this image, in awe, when I hear someone right behind me say, “That looks like a good shot.”  I jump because I was not aware of anyone behind me...scary.  Then my face beams into a huge smile as I see it is Greg!  He made it out of bed and dragged his butt and Nikon to the beach for the sunset!  I was happy he didn’t miss it and I was ecstatic to watch it rise with him.  

     The light from the newly risen sun dancing on the water, waves and wet sand, seagulls chasing the waves as they bring the birds breakfast right to their beaks.  The small amount of people on the beach enjoying their walks and runs before the sun heats up the sand and air, those carrying their coffee in to-go cups strolling along the water line, moving away from the water as it sneaks up closer to their feet every few waves in between.  The joggers with shoes on are farther away from the waves, the joggers without shoes, like me, are more eager to run through the waves of almost any size as they come in.  

Finally a Vacation!

Early to rise to board a plane with leg room any size person would scream to be cramped up in.  Layover was not bad but then into the next plane with the same amount of leg room...next to none!  By the last hour of the ride, my knees started to ache, I can only imagine what his legs and knees were feeling being a foot taller than me.

Arriving at the beautiful beach house yet not being able to enter for five more hours, we found some of our party at a nearby hotel and hung out by the pool until the heat became too much.  Once in the hotel lobby everyone realized how hungry each was, good thing we were heading out to grab lunch at that moment.  Ending up at a delicious pizza house, me having two large slices of cheese pizza while the rest shared two extra large pepperoni pizzas.   The many shops surrounding were a fun distraction from the heat and humidity while we continue to wait for time to speed up to 3pm.

Yesterday, lying on a beach towel in the hot sand in the heat of the sun, hot, humid sweat beading down my body, chatting with the girls, we saw a small pack of dolphins swimming north, not too far out from where the mass of beach goers were playing in the water.  Magical sight!  These beautiful creatures jumping out of the water as they travel and probably feeding at the same time.

Today, with the mighty rock he is, I ventured into the ocean.  Walking and bobbing past a set of waves, we were out where the waves were small followed by medium then followed by big; this repetition was continuous, of course not every wave the same as the last.  The water was cool and the sun was hot, a refreshing mix to have the salty water splash my face as my body was near submersion in the coolness.  Wave after wave, Greg held my hand so I stayed near him as each wave had the intentions of sending me back to shore.  After each large wave, he pulled me closer to him them we preceded to walk a few steps further in...that's how far these waves carried us.  His sturdy stance, his caring hold, and the huge smile as it raced across his face!

This morning I ran bare foot on the beach!  Amazing feeling throughout my body and mind.  Even though there is a blister on my second toe, left foot, from the sand; wet and firmer as well as dry and soft, my feet hitting the sand, and occasionally the tide, a new sensation for my feet; therefore, a blister.  This will not stop my run tomorrow or any other morning left here.

So far, each morning we wake the heat and humidity are rising, of course by midday the heat has increased greatly, by late afternoon, after being in the sun and water all day, the air inside and out have cooled.  Climb into bed, feeling the chill, then by about 2 or 3am, wake up to heat and that's when it begins again.  I can't remember when I have felt these extreme temperatures, but I love feeling it and noticing it all.

Four more wake ups in the beautiful place, three more days at the breath taking beach and ocean.  How can I live near the ocean?  First, finish school!  Second, find a job...that will take me here!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my cousins, Lindsay and Ryan!  I love and miss you!  Raise a glass of red for me!

Sixteen Days and Counting

Through my years, at least through my adult years, I have been lucky to have a fit having a healthy body, inside and out with my daily activities.  That is until I returned to school.  The first year was havoc on my body and mind, then I found yoga!  The year following remained the same, then the yoga bug got inside me, I chained it to a wall so it wouldn't go anywhere and adored it daily.  I woke each day with full intention to practice!   Then...sadly I lost so much; all the changes I was going through, all the emotional grief and moving there and here.  Now as I am approaching 40 years of age, I look in the mirror and I am not the person I once was.  

One day, glancing in the mirror I said to myself, "This is not my body."  Then again a few days later I find another mirror and stare at the person looking back, and say, "This is not me."  Finally on the third glance another day, more of a stare, I knew it was me but definitely not who I think I should be.  You know, a smart, fit, energized woman.  

Then it truly hit me, my god, I am going to turn 40 looking like this!  Hell no!  I am taking back my energy, taking back my fit self and conquering the world.  Running, walking and trying to focus on yoga!  Yes, trying...my mind jumps from one thought to one memory to another thought to another...yada yada yada.   Crazy to think of where my mind is today and where it was years ago; I know I will be there again.  Sure I am not giving myself enough time to see the changes in sixteen more days, but my body and mind are already feeling it and loving it!  

To health and love! 

Surrounded by Aspens

Thousands of Aspen trees surround an unpaved path with one visible pine tree ahead in the distance.  The perfect dark, brown knots and knobs line each white bark with no particular pattern.  Known for their slender and tall shape, they are grouped by their masses, as if they have grown their own armies and will withstand any fight.  Some white bark trees are leaning toward another; are they seeking support of those nearby or do they know how strong they are and are pushing their limits for greater strength?  Some are leaning into the air, with no tree close by for support.  Are they strong enough to withstand a wind storm and keep from falling into the deep fluffy snow below?  Or will their light bodies crack and fall to the cold and dark floor and be lost 

hiding in the depths until late spring when the snow has melted and new growth surrounding it?  

I want to reach out and touch the Aspen before me, his smooth white bark, brown fragile limbs, rooted knots.  His small fragile arms reaching to the left as if to confuse me to walk in that direction when it is the lone pine I seek straight ahead.        

Standing in the crowd of Aspens, there is enough light from the white snow and the white barks keeping my journey light, yet up ahead the natural light looks  dimmer.  But is it really?  With one full, deep inhale, filling my lungs with fresh mountain air, it is clear to me that the light here is just as light as it is further up.  With a long  exhale, clearing my lungs, making room for more crisp mountain air, I am eager to continue one step at a time to journey further into the unpaved path and closer to the lone pine knowing there are many more pines visible from the crowded mass of Aspens surrounding me.  

This path is bright and fulfilling,  as I dance around the Aspens and skip through their unparallel  pattern, keeping my eyes on the lone pine.  My journey now and tomorrow are just I plan it, to be in the middle of thousands of Aspens, looking ahead to one pine anticipating the glory of seeing thousands more.    

Clerical Error

The weeks, days, hours, and agony of researching who wanted my identity led to the resolution that the medical center made a "clerical error".  Really?  How can you mix my social security number and my previous name with a child with the same name?  A child.  The parents must have filled out a patient record for their child before the two doctors saw her on two different dates; so how did the medical center mix one social with the other?  

However it happened is no longer an issue, and better not be an issue in the future; the medical center contacted me, apologized and begged for me to sign a non-disclosure form since my investigation has drawn up so much information; I agreed  because it seems no one has stolen my identity or my social security number.

Remaining in contact with the detective...sounds cool, right?  Detective.  Anyway, talking with her every couple days eased my anxiety quite a bit because she truly seemed she cared about my identity being stolen; when we both confirmed closing my case was the only thing to do, she sounded a little sad...quite a bit sad.

Now I wait again, wait for the credit bureau to receive the documents stating it was a clerical error, wait for them to take this collection off my credit report, and wait for my credit score to rise (significantly).  This could take up to 90 days!  Yikes, I just want my name and reputation to be back to where it was, where it is!

Something I have not ordered in YEARS!

Many of you will never believe what I did last night!  I had my first steak in about seven years.  Yes, a juicy, medium temperature filet mignon.  Oh my was it delicious.  Last week I went on a cleanse diet, eating nothing but vegetables and little fruit.  By Thursday I was hungry and pissed, I needed food, not just food but protein.  Yet, cheese was not sounding good, black beans didn't sound too bad, but what I really was craving was a steak!

Greg came back from being in Seattle all week on Friday and I tell him this, that I am ready to eat red meat.  He says, "Great, we will go to a steakhouse tomorrow...but you have to order a steak."  No hesitation, I say, "Okay, I will!"

Saturday night came and we went to a nearby steakhouse and I did it, I ordered a filet mignon.  I was unsure if I liked my steaks medium rare or medium in the past; I ordered it medium and was not disappointed.  A juicy steak, merlot and the best thing that has walked into my life, Greg!  A wonderful night.    

Can I still call myself a vegetarian?  I do not eat chicken and of course never a dirty pig or a cute lamb or...

Roosters and Hens

A couple new roosters, Kenny Powers and Little Dude, are at Greg's, both young and beautiful!  The hens, Dee Dee and Crystal, have taken to Kenny quite easily while the smaller rooster, Little Dude, has made better friends with their neighbors chickens.  The hens take shelter high in the barn so the foxes can not easily reach them, Kenny got the idea and has been sleeping not quite as high but out of reach of foxes, Little Dude on the other hand likes to sleep on a couple rungs up on a ladder...bad idea, easy food for the foxes.

Dee Dee and Crystal have been raised together since their young age so it is odd to see Dee Dee hanging down with Kenny Powers and leaving Crystal alone higher in the barn.

Benefits

Benefits to walking Fuzz in the late morning hours: gaggle of geese hanging out on the trail, there must have been eight or ten, all watching and waiting to see how far towards them we would walk but not ready to run or fly off; ducklings learning their life skills from mom and dad, swimming, running on water, ducking under the tree leaves to hide from us; one baby duck running on the trail in front of us, trying to go faster than us but was not succeeding; instead the duckling hid in the weeds in the middle of the trail - pretty damn good hiding too because I couldn't see him as we walked past; bee keepers smoking their hives and the farmers tending to their large fields.

We haven't seen the eagles in a couple months now; I like to think they have two homes, one summer home in the mountains and one winter home in the valley.  Lucky eagles, must have got some inheritance from their parents.

No deer in a while either, but at least with the deer I know they are always around its just how well they hid in the tall weeds.  How can they not be around when the farmers land is easily accessible and there is fresh water at their feet?   Maybe the ducks chase them off, like a turf war or something.

I wonder what tomorrow's walk will bring for us.

I'm Sexy

This is a new love for music, hearing a few of their songs and being hooked instantly...basically, I am singing in the shower ;)

Introducing, LMFAO:
I'm Sexy and I Know It
Shuffling

You Are Not Taking Mine!

As of last Friday I learned my identity has been stolen; being accepted for a Visa credit card through my credit union the gentleman said, "You have been approved for a credit card with us; however, there are a couple medical bills on your credit report that are not good."  And my stress meter began to climb.

If I am not a cool 30 + woman, then I am some baby or young child who has visited a couple pediatric doctors locally.  It amazes me how desperate people become, whether financially to steal money from others or financial institutions or to steal identity's.  My opinion on this matter, especially now that I am a victim of identity fraud, is that if you are in the USA illegally, please go through our proper, yes proper, steps to become a citizen.  Not having gone through it I am guessing it is not easy or quick, but if you want to live peacefully in our free country, then peacefully walk the steps.

Two police reports and hundreds of minutes used on my phone plan, wait...I am now on a family plan, those weren't my minutes...sorry!  Not to mention the credit alerts and fraud alerts I have completed online, I am not sure what to do next.  Wait for the detectives to do their part and then what?   Wait for the hospital staff to come up with signatures from a year ago and then what?  Please rest assured, I will be pressing charges once there is a suspect, scratch that, suspects.  No matter how sad your story can be, there is nothing to remedy this by stealing another persons identity.  Why did you risk your child to be without parents in the near future just to say your child is a US citizen?  Will these thief's be jailed or deported?  Which scenario is best for me?  Probably not what is best for their child.  No matter, charges will pressed.

I am grateful my credit report is only showing the two medical charges and not any open credit accounts.  Also happy my finance information is safe!  I can't imagine where I would be right now if those were left to deal with as well, because as we know, my finances are not large...not even big.  And my credit accounts are what brought me to a high and worth credit score.  Now my credit score is not so high and mighty...but you keep posted on my fight!  High 700's here I come again!

It's not about the credit score, its about me; me saying who I say I am, me saying no one can ever do this again.  I do wish that I could stop it from happening to everyone once I have fought my war, sadly, others will have to walk the same path as I am starting.

Emergency Landing on Interstate

This is an awesome video; everyone in my ASL class had to sign this story...very cool!

Emergency Landing on Interstate 

America the Beautiful

"Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticided grain,

For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.

America, America, man sheds his waste on thee,

And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea."

— George Carlin

Don't Let Romney Bork Us!

Don't Let Romney Bork Us!

Please Adopt Her

Mango needs a new home, from one loving home to yours!  Please read her bio for more information and how to meet her here: Mango 

Do You Remember

Just heard this song and fell in love (not hard to do with Jack Johnson's talent) - made me think of a lot of memories Greg and I have been making...ahhh!

Do You Remember

Well Played, Well Played

Monsanto is a big bully!

You've got to watch this video of an amazing young boy who knows what he stands for: If Monsanto Were a Person

Cucumbers!

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!