In Through The Out Door

For those of you who darken these halls and wonder if I’ve fallen off the face of the earth- I haven’t, but I’m only writing on my own sites now. I’d love for you to bookmark me, add me to your favorites, or subscribe to my rss feed.

I’m going to be kicking off a contest sometime later this summer, so don’t miss out.

Find me at each of the three blogs- each with different content-

http://www.simplywizardress.com

http://www.throughthetulips.com

http://www.littlesouthofsanity.com

Hey y’all

As I wrote about a while back, this place would probably not be a permanent thing (then again what is?), but that I would write here until I got my own sites up and running.   Since that time, I have finally been able to get my blogs (yes, plural) off the ground, and while I’m still working on getting all my links added, and having them set up the way I’d like, they are functional.

The next big step after getting the links added, will be to find someone to do, or to create myself a layout that is ‘me’.  I like the ones I’m using now, but they aren’t excactly what I want.

If you would like to join me at my new home, I’d be more than happy to have you there..  I’m still trying to find a balance in online and offline time, but I’m slowly but surely getting there.

Please bookmark the following pages, if you’d like to keep up with what’s happening in my life-  each will share different things, so feel free to visit one or all three.  It’s up to you.

Simply Wizardress

Through The Tulips

and last, but certainly not least, Little South of Sanity

Hope to see y’all there!!

Love,
Wizzy

This morning I had an email from mom with the following recipe attached.  She thought it was something that I may enjoy making, and she’s right.  I will probably decrease the oil to lower the fat and calorie content, but it sounds great to me.  I’m always looking for new ways to make some of my favorites, and I love zucchini.    Thanks mom

What’s YOUR favorite vegetable?

Stuffed Zucchini

 Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini (about 12 ounces total)

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 1 beaten egg

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Nutritional Information: calories: 131, total fat: 8g, saturated fat: 3g, cholesterol: 9mg, sodium: 200mg, carbohydrate: 8g, fiber: 1g, protein: 7g, vitamin A: 8%, vitamin C: 8%, calcium: 15%, iron: 5%.

Steps: 1. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Place, cut side down, in a microwave-safe 2-quart square baking dish. Micro-cook, covered, on 100 percent power (high) for 1-1/2 to 3 minutes or until nearly tender. (Or, cook in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes.)

Scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick shell. Set shells aside.

Finely chop the zucchini pulp; set aside.

 2.   In a medium saucepan cook onion in hot oil until tender but not brown.  Add chopped zucchini; cook 1 minute more.

Stir in flour, basil, and pepper.

Add milk all at once.

Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Cook and stir for 1 minute more.

 Gradually add zucchini mixture to the egg product or egg.

Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Spoon mixture into zucchini shells; place in a 2-quart baking dish.

3.   Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until filling is lightly browned.  Makes 4 side-dish servings.

4. Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare and fill zucchini; cover and chill up to 24 hours. Bake as above except bake 30 to 35 minutes.

There are times when I find myself getting angry for little things- things that I know shouldn’t bother me, but yet they do.   Luckily it doesn’t happen often but it does happen- after all, I am human and we all have our moments.  

I try to be conscious when I find myself getting frustrated or angry and ask myself exactly WHY I am feeling that way-  and whether it’s worth going to battle over.  Most times it isn’t, and I do try to choose my battles wisely, but again, I’m human and I falter.

I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit this morning and came across the following in my inbox.  If you have been reading any of my  journals for any length of time, or if you know me personally, then you know that I like things that make cause me to pause, think, and wonder how (if at all) I can apply it to my own life and learn from it.  This instance is no different.

“Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intention of throwing it at someone else. You are the one who gets burned.” - Buddha

 

Is your life filled with anger?

When someone cuts you off while driving, or misses an appointment you made together, you probably get angry.

 Often our imaginations create internal situations and fantasies that perpetuate those feelings until you are boiling and ready to take it out on someone else.

Truly though, we waste too much of our time and energy feeling negatively towards all sorts of things in our lives.

When was the last time you went an entire day without feeling angry? Think about the times you most frequently feel those tense, frustrated feelings building up in you and examine the root. If the situation is unavoidable, you’ve got to force yourself to accept it and move past it.

Maybe you need to sit down with a co-worker and talk to her about what is bothering you–instead of just letting her idiosyncrasies get under your skin each day. Perhaps you need to find an alternative route home to avoid the daily traffic jam that makes your blood boil.

Your body and mind will thank you for the peace such moves provide in the end.

Wise words, and definitely something worth remembering.  How do you manage anger? 

I came across this quote today when going through a book that I wrote in daily last year.  It was where I recorded my daily work outs, and I’m surprised at the difference in now and then in terms of work outs.  I find myself in amazement of the human body and just how much it really does for us. 

I’ve come a very long way in little over a year.  The journey continues, for all of us.

The quote- I found to be timely, not only for me, but for so many who are a part of my life.

“In Order to learn the important lessons in life- we must each day summount fear.”   -Emerson

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about  new recipes and have come across quite a few that look not only simple, but also healthy and delicious.   Since I’ve been a little unsure what I’d do with this journal, I think it may actually become a place where I share recipes, and discuss my journey to continue losing weight and excercising.

Spicy Southern Barbecued Chicken

Serves: 8

Serving Size: One chicken part with sauce

Removing the chicken fat and skin and adding no salt to the tasty sauce makes this chicken favorite heart-healthy.

 INGREDIENTS 

3 lb. chicken parts (breast, drumstick, and thigh), skin and fat removed

 1 large onion, thinly sliced

 3 tablespoon vinegar

3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

 2 tablespoon brown sugar

 black pepper to taste

 1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes

 1 tablespoon chili powder

 1 cup chicken stock or broth, fat skimmed from top

 DIRECTIONS

1. Place chicken in a 13×9x2″ pan. Arrange onions over the top.

2. Mix together vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, pepper, hot pepper flakes, chili powder, and stock.

3. Pour over the chicken and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until done, basting occasionally.

NUTRITION INFO

Calories: 177.2

Fat: 4.6 g

Carbohydrates: 23.3 g

Protein: 11.2 g

Thanks to Sparkpeople.com for this great recipe!

Don’t you just love tax time? Marcel and I sent our taxes off to our accountant about two weeks ago, and he’s finished them, but for some reason hasn’t sent them in yet. What he’s waiting on, we’re unsure. I’m happy to have them out of the way early though, and now just waiting to get them sent, so that I can check that off the ‘to do’ list permanently for this year. I am still finding a struggle trying to balance my time, and I’m still unsure how to find a balance that I’m going to be comfortable with. I’ve also added my work outs back into the mix, which take priority, so again, I’m searching for balance. I kept asking myself why it was that before I seemed to have enough time to get things done and now I am lacking, and I finally figured it out- Facebook. Yes, it seems like Facebook is getting the blame for many things these days, so I may as well add it to my list as well. Seriously- I love it. In the last few weeks, my facebook has been an explosion of ‘blast from the past’ friends from high school, and it’s turned into a mini-reunion and lots of messages back and forth as to what we’ve been doing with ourselves the last 20+ years since we graduated. Balance- there has to be a way- but right now it seems to be fleeting. I’ll find it though- I just need to find what works and what doesn’t. How do you balance your time? Do you also have struggles from time to time where it seems like everything is a balancing act?

For those of you who took the time out of your day yesterday to send up a prayer for Marcel and his family, I thank you- it means more than you realize. On the whole, the day went well. I’m very proud at the way Marcel handled a few curveballs that were tossed our way, and surprised at another. It was a difficult day- the fourth anniversary of his brothers death, but we spend our time in reflection, and we try to move forward. It’s really the only way to really LIVE, and we want to make the absolute best of the life we have together. It’s a great one, and we’re blessed in many, many ways. Since yesterday was also the first day that we’d been out to do anything since he’d been sick, he couldn’t wait to buy me some roses for our anniversary, plus he bought me a beautiful charm for my T.S. bracelet. I explained to him that I don’t ‘need’ gifts to know that he loves me, but this was something he wanted to do, so I couldn’t rob him of that. I haven’t talked much about my goals for this year, but one of them is to be more unassuming. Not that I really think that I’m very assuming to begin with, but I am guilty from time to time for ‘assuming’ that things are a certain way, when often times, I find myself being wrong in that assumption. So one of my goals is to not assume that ANYONE thinks or feels a certain way, or that any one thing is this way or that way without having the facts to support that feeling. Í know it will help me on this journey to be a better person, and live my own life to the best of it’s potential. I have a feeling that’s a little life lesson that many of us could benefit from. Marcel is back to work today, and I’m enjoying some time alone. I’ve had several things that I’ve been wanting to accomplish, and I’ve been able to get those done today. Tomorrow I’m hoping to get caught up on a few hand-written letters and get them sent out before Monday. I love writing so much. Tonight, Desere is coming over for coffee, company and some girl talk. We spent some time catching up this morning, and we have MUCH to talk about tonight. You’d never guess that we’d just been over there yesterday, but we never run out of things to say. Yesterday- Marcel and I were chatting with one of our neighbors and she invited us in since it was cold out and none of us wanted to stand in the cold. She and her husband have a lovely place, and she has the most whimsical cat I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ll have to write more about it later- and I’m even going to see if she’ll let me photograph him, but his name is Geno and he’s sleek, brown and simply comical. Of course, he’s not as amazing as Mister M, but he definitely runs a close second, and you know that’s saying something if I say that about a cat I’ve only met for about 45 minutes or so. More on Mr. Geno later. Right now, I need to take care of a few more things around the house, and see if I have any work that I need to take care of. More from me later if I get everything finished.

Since I haven’t written one in a while, I decided that I’d take a moment to write a list of the things I’m grateful for today. Even though I haven’t been sharing the list, I am grateful each and every day for all things in my life, even the not-so-pleasant ones, as they serve to teach me about myself and others.

Since I’d rather be spending my time with Marcel, I will keep this short, but expect to hear more from me tomorrow.

Marcel is going back to work Thursday, which will afford me some time to play ‘catch up’ in a major way. I’m completely caught up with all my household chores (with the exception of that dreaded closet revamping that I “STILL” haven’t done), so I should have some time to spend doing what “I” want to do.

My Gratitude List for February 2, 2009.

Today I’m Grateful For:

1- Marcel, whom I love more with each passing year.

2- The flowers, cards and well wishes that we received today in celebration of ‘our’ day.

3- Leftovers, which meant I didn’t have to cook today.

4- Snow- even though it was just a little, it made me smile.

5- Saying “I DO” five years ago today.

Today is February 2nd, which may seem like nothing more to some of you than the second day of the second month of the year 2009, but to Marcel and I it’s much, much more. Today is the five year anniversary of the day we said “We Do”- the day we committed to each other through thick and thin.

I’m definitely blessed to have him as my husband. He’s a great guy, far from perfect, but he’s perfect for me. I love him dearly, even in those moments such as the past week when he’s been home sick and far from fun to be around, I still adore him and know that he feels the same about me.

It’s been a great five years, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next five brings us. I’d love to say that those five years have been without any sort of trials or tribulations, but I’d be lying. In fact, there have been probably more than enough, but through each of those we’ve managed to learn not only about ourselves, but about the way we feel about each other and our commitment to this relationship, which only brings us closer together.

Marcel, if you happen to read this- I love you, and look forward to waking up beside you for the next 50 + years. Thank you for being who you are.

*kisses*