This is My Kind of Ice Cream

I found an ice cream to love.

I have never been an ice cream fanatic. This I have admitted and shared before. Yet, many of you are big fans of this dairy wonderland. A coworker and I were discussing ice cream the other day and he mentioned that growing up his mom always had ice cream in the freezer. They didn't have a lot of other treats in the house but they always had ice cream. And every night she would pull out the ice cream and bowls and spoons and everyone would gather around and eat ice cream together as they laughed and talked. His mom died when he was in high school but he says he still loves to have a bowl of ice cream each night.

That definitely tugged the old heart strings a little.

I think part of the reason that ice cream didn't appeal to me was I had an inkling pretty early on that I might have some food issues with dairy. I just didn't seem to respond to it well. I was never a big milk drinker and I had pretty much cut it out of my life by high school and I think ice cream just went down the same road. That doesn't mean I don't like it or it doesn't taste amazing. I just didn't want to hassle with it especially when things like brownies or cake or cookies could satiate my sweet tooth very well. 

In college, I lived with two like-minded friends who couldn't or didn't do dairy either. Our fridge was a wonderland of soy milk and rice milk and we had many a late night raid of a local grocery store that carried our favorite So Delicious soy ice cream. This got us through the minute dissection of every cute boy, potential prospect and dating relationship that crossed our threshold. It even helped us wade through the a broken engagement or two. So, yes I get the appeal. 

Yet, I found that with some of my food sensitivities that soy milk and rice milk were not really options so that ice cream fell by the wayside as well. 

And then I happened across a recommendation on Elana's site for coconut milk ice cream. 

When I was out visiting Amy a couple of months ago we experimented and made a fruit smoothie with coconut milk and pineapple. It was tropical and yummy and we made it every day after that. Then I came home and spread the love of coconut milk smoothies and I've had at least a couple a week since then. So, my love of all things coconut has really moved up the roster. 

 
Ingredients: organic coconut milk, organic agave syrup, chicory root extract, organic dried coconut, carob bean gum, guar gum, natural flavors

I just had no idea that coconut milk ice cream existed. When I heard about it, I went out that night and bought my first little pint of Purely Decadent's Coconut flavor. Yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy. 

via wholesomegoodness.net

Ingredients: organic coconut milk (organic coconut, water, guar gum), organic agave syrup, organic fair trade cocoa, organic hazelnuts, organic chocolate fudge (organic agave syrup, water, organic fair trade cocoa, organic fair trade vanilla extract), organic fair trade vanilla extract

Then I went out the next night I tried another brand called Coconut Bliss. They had a flavor called Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge. Ummm, I became an immediate convert. Immediate. 

I think one of the things I like about coconut milk ice cream compared to soy milk ice cream or rice milk ice cream is that it is thick and creamy and full of texture. It isn't ice-y like a sorbet. It is full of fat which only makes it super good and thus super good for you. 

So, for all of my ice cream friends out there, give it a whirl. I'll even come share it with you, if you give me a call.

That's just the kind of friend I am. 

Just a Little Fun

I needed something to make me laugh this week and this did it. 

The song "Eye of the Tiger" makes me think of big-hair bands, Idaho and the eighties. Really it embodies for me my early childhood and my older brothers. I always think of them when this song comes on. I saw this clip the other day and it all came rushing back.

In this clip is an actor from the show Supernatural lip-syncing to "Eye of the Tiger." That show is about two brothers who road trip across the country in a classic car listening to big-hair band music and fight ghosts for a living. (Seriously, why do I know this? Because this little video made me interested in the show. I have a sickness.)

In this particular clip the other brother/actor on the show was supposed to enter the scene and missed his cue purposely (you can hear him laughing during the performance because he was miked for the scene). He just wanted to see what the other actor, Jensen Ackles, would do with this huge song blasting and this is the performance that happened, all caught on tape for the whole world to see.

The video (links to youtube)

The leg guitar had to be my favorite moment.  

Hope it gave you all a giggle today too.

18 Things I Wish I'd Known before I Went to College

For Cassie's 18th birthday, I wrote a list of things I wish I had known before I went to college. Cassie actually starts college this summer so I thought I could share a few points of insight with her. Good or bad these are things I learned through trial and error and offered to share with her. I'm sure I've missed some great insights, so what would you add to this list? What would have made a difference for you when you first left home and started college? What do you wish you had taken advantage of as a freshman? Or what habit made a great difference for you in college? 

I'd love for you to add to my list and give Cassie a smattering of our collected wisdom. 

1.     Never, never, never take a 7AM class. You will never wake up for it and you will hate yourself all semester long for signing up for it. For that matter, I wouldn’t even take an 8AM class but some people are just gluttons for punishment. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.


2.     Watch the class load your first semester. Don’t exceed more than 12 hours your first semester. It takes a while to adjust to the demands and rigors of college and you will only do yourself a favor if you keep the class load manageable your first year. Juggling school, work, social life, homework, church responsibilities, life skills, and family time takes a gigantic learning curve so cut yourself a bit of slack in the education department your first time around.


3.     Life skills matter. Things like cooking meals, doing your laundry, cleaning your house, maintaining a car and tracking your finances. They are the kind of things that have to be done every day and make your life painful and unhappy if they aren’t done. Just succumb to their reality and do them every day and you will save yourself a lot of angst and worry later because you’ve already mastered the essentials.


4.     Actually learn how to make your bed—every day. This sounds insane but at some point you will leave college, enter the real world and hopefully get married and have kids. Learning to make your bed now will just lighten the load. If you learn to make your bed every day then you grow accustomed to having a neat bed. If your bed is neat, you will pick up your clothes too. If your clothes are picked up then your bedroom will be clean. And then you won’t want the bathroom to look like trash, so you will keep it picked up. Bed-making and dishwashing are two habits that begin to breed cleanliness in your life. And when you suddenly don’t have Mom the-most-amazingly-clean-woman-in-America around anymore to clean up after you, you will wish you could invent her robotic double to come and live with you permanently because cleanliness is never so easy as it is when you live within the walls of her home. And it never will be again. TRUST ME. So, do yourself a favor and start picking up the cleanliness habit.


5.     You have to earn money in order to spend it.  This was a concept I understood in theory but it took a long time to put into practice. You have to buy things like your own laundry detergent and your own toilet paper and your own ketchup. That takes some getting used to. No more is your money just spent on clothes or entertainment or fun. Now you have to buy things to make your little household run and pay tuition and buy really expensive books that you will cart around for the next ten years before you marshal the guts to toss them. It is so hard to adjust to the realities of living on your own and paying your own way and then to find that you have to buy superfluous things like milk and bread with the very little funds you have at your disposal which will make you want to weep sometimes. So, get a job. Yes, even get a job on campus. And really, really pray that this education thing will pay off because you don’t ever want to work for so little money ever again.


6.     Sleeping is not optional. The fun will be almost nonstop. Plus there will always be a big test to study for, a huge paper to write or a really deep conversation that needs to take place with someone. That is all in addition to the one million other things that need to take place each day. Sleep is almost always the first thing to go with a packed schedule. Don’t succumb though. Don’t believe that cutting yourself out of a few hours of sleep is not a big deal. It is. Sleep will make a major difference in your mood, your outlook, your intellect and your energy level. Sleep is the easiest thing to chuck when your stress level rises and your schedule is overflowing. If you hold on to sleep now, you will learn how to do stress and do a busy life while still getting enough sleep. Plus you will be perkier and happier and much more pleasant to be around. Sleep is not overrated.


7.     Learn how to pack your own lunch. It will save you money, it will save you time and it will save your health. I would have saved so much more money in college if I learned this skill earlier. Plus, I would have been healthier. If you anticipate your need for food, you will prepare healthier and better food than you can grab when you are on the go and starving. Plus, you will learn how to feed yourself and not depend on vending machines or fast food to fuel your body. They both do a terrible job at it. Learning, studying and playing take energy and with little money at your disposal packing your lunch just makes sense all around.


8.     Saying “no” is often the nicest thing you can do. The boys will be plentiful and good-looking. The big change with college is that most of them will be strangers to you. And just because they are at BYU and LDS doesn’t mean that they are great people. You will come across some stellar duds on the social scene. You may even come across some scary ones. Never say “yes” just to be nice or because someone keeps asking you out. This is where your gut and the Spirit really matter. Learn to trust how you feel. If some guy makes you feel funny—even the slightest bit—tell him “No.” The sooner he leaves the better. Learning to say “No” is really the nicest thing you can do for yourself and him.


9.     Do all the crazy freshman activities that are offered. Go tunnel singing. Hike the Y. Participate in Freshman Academy. Play an intramural sport. Go ice blocking. You will make amazing friends in college and sometimes the way you will meet them is through doing all the crazy stuff that is offered. If you start taking advantage of every opportunity as a freshman you will get in the mode of doing whatever fun things that cross your path and you will meet great people along the way. Plus, you will pick up a habit that will help you meet new people throughout the rest of your college career. Don’t hold back. Just go for it.


10.  Smile at everyone, just don’t talk about it in testimony meeting. A smile helps you feel warm, friendly and approachable and it helps you open your eyes to potential friends around you. Smiling will help you look up and look on the bright side too. Just don’t talk about how smiling changed your life or someone else’s in testimony meeting. Let every other freshman in your ward do that for you.


11.  Talk to your professors. They are in the business of learning and they will help guide you through the labyrinth of academic life with great insight. Learn how to make friends with your professors and visit them during office hours. They will be some of the greatest people in your corner.


12.  Do the honors program if you have the guts. The Great Works list alone in the Honors program will elevate your mind. Honors requires extra reading and research with a professor but it will put in some of the top classes on campus with some of the best and brightest minds available. This will hone your skills and your mind as you prepare for the future. It will take some work too. At least take some time to consider it. You won’t be sorry.


13.  Grades do matter. You don’t know what the future holds for you. You may be perfectly happy with your major and the direction you choose now but ten years down the road you may decide to go to graduate school and suddenly that transcript from college is going to look awfully important.


14.  Invest in a really good backpack. You will be carrying a lot of heavy books around campus for the next few years. A good backpack will save you as you walk hundreds of miles each week across campus. Then wear both straps on your shoulders. It will save you many a backache.


15.  Ask questions. Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question (although I can’t promise that you won’t feel stupid asking some questions). Just get over it now. The only way to get anywhere in life is to learn how to ask great questions and the only way to do that is to learn how to ask some really bad questions in the process. Questions open up your mind and heart to truth. Are you ready for it?


16.  Expand your cultural horizons. Spend a night at the BYU Planetarium. Go to every free exhibit at the Museum of Art. Attend free recitals and concerts. Go to International Cinema. Go on study abroad. Learn another language. You will never have so many free and discounted cultural activities right at your fingertips as you do in college. Take advantage. Listen the Men’s Chorus in person. Watch a ballroom dance competition. Soak up any horizon-expanding experience you can. 


17.  Call your parents. They love you and want to know what is happening in your life. They are also a wealth of information, common sense and life experience. You will start to see how truly wise they really are as they help you navigate these first years of adulthood. Just remember to say “I love you” every time and don’t forget to thank them often. They won’t ever tire of hearing it.


18.  Write it down. These experiences will never come again and you will be able to relive them if you write it down. Even if it is one sentence a day, it will help. A journal can hold your secrets, listen to your heart and help you find your voice. Write it all down. You will be amazed at the life you lived when you look back over it one day. 

She's Growing Up

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that these are Cassie's senior photos that Megan took. She's quite the photographer.

My baby sister graduated from high school last week. I can barely believe it. She was born when I was a teenager and she was a baby that was wanted and hoped for and prayed for in our family. 

My dad went to law school when he was forty years old and when I was just starting junior high. My parents had seven children when they went back to school and they had very busy lives. I remember though begging my mom to have another baby. I had one sister but I wanted another and in my naivete, I just assumed that all mom and dad had to do was decide to have another baby. I didn't understand how much another child adds loads of responsibility and time and care to their lives. 

Shortly after Dad graduated from law school, I had a birthday. A couple of weeks before my birthday, my mom started laying hints for me about what an incredible birthday present she had for me. As a teenager, my mind went a bit wild. What was I getting? A car? Some furniture? A bunch of new clothes? I was so convinced that this present was really big that I wouldn't go out to the garage for a couple of weeks just in case I stumbled upon my fabulous little red convertible that Mom and Dad were stashing away for me in there. 

A few days before my birthday I was home sick from school. Some time that day my mom came in to my room and told me she couldn't take it any longer and she was going to give me my birthday present early. Then she told me she was six weeks pregnant. 

I burst into tears I was so happy. 

The following June, Cassie joined our family. She was the eighth child, the third girl and so, so wanted. We were all so thrilled with her arrival. She's been a joy and a pleasure since then. I know she gets a hard time because she is the youngest and she didn't grow up on the farm or suffer through the hard years of law school and Dad's early years as an attorney. But I think she is only teased about that because they can't find anything else to tease her about. What would we do without Cassie? Mom says she has kept them young and full of life and vigor. I say aren't we lucky?

Happy Birthday, baby sister. 

May Days

Flowers that my sweet sister and brother-in-law gave me for Mother's Day. I'm an auntie who loves all her little people and these made my heart sing. Thank you. 

I've been out of commission for a week, mostly sleeping. I know I'm not feeling well when eating is too big of a hurdle to climb. It simply becomes a chore and I would rather not. Mostly I slept and slept and slept some more. I'm feeling much better now and glad to have my energy back. What a true treasure it is!

I downloaded a few photos from happenings over the last month and wanted to share. So, enjoy the small photo tour. 

MAY BIRTHDAYS

Tami and Rus have the same birthday so we had birthday cakes for each of them and celebrated. 

I don't know who set up the candles on Rus's cake but somebody was having fun. 

Rus, of course, had to warm his hands by the flame created from all those candles. 

I hope it was a good birthday. 

May is a very, very big birthday month for us. In one week we have Brock's birthday and anniversary, Granddad's birthday (gone but not forgotten), Grandma J's birthday (gone but not forgotten), and Rus and Tami's birthdays. Plus throw Mother's Day in there and that week always feels very full. 

And there are still more birthdays coming later in the month!

THE GIRLS' WEEKEND

The girls of the family (except Cassie, the graduating senior, and Julie who lives five hours away) spent a weekend up at a condo about a half an hour up the canyon. We had a great time even though it was a quick little trip. The purpose of the trip was a chance to talk about redroko.com. Meg, Julie, Cissy and Michelle are the core leaders for that blog and the rest of us like to believe we are the first followers. So, we had a great chat about the website and then lots of chats about other things as well. 

I, somehow, got to sleep in this very pretty king size bed that night. Ummmm, yeah, that was fun. Do you know how big this kind of bed is? I planted myself right in the middle of the bed and sank into bliss. I felt like a princess. The other princesses slept in the four other beds in the other two bedrooms. 

Michelle loved me sitting in front of her trying to get a good shot. The sun was coming in right behind her in the window and I was having a difficult time. Four days later she would deliver a new baby. 

Meg also barely put up with my little photo shoot. (And note to Meg: This is a good photo. I want brownie points for NOT posting the photo you didn't like, which I liked. I will just say that since you so delicately threatened me with death I decided to not chance it.)

Cissy and Meg in full conversation mode. I think we stayed up until midnight just getting a good chat in. 

And dinner. Michelle's sister, Lauren, is here visiting to help out Michelle with the new baby so she came with us and I think had a good time. (l to r: Lauren, Michelle, Tami, Mom, Jenny, Cissy, Meg)

CASSIE'S SEMINARY GRADUATION

Baby sister is growing up! She will be eighteen in a few weeks and is graduating from high school. I can barely believe it. My parents will officially be empty nesters in a few short months. 

BABY LIV'S ARRIVAL

This sweet little munchkin showed up last week and put a smile on everyone's faces. In this photo she is just over 24 hours old. Sweet, sweet baby. 

Michelle seemed amazingly energetic and alert after her birth. She also had her own birthday just four days after Liv's arrival. They spent it laying low and letting little Liv hang out on those funky lights they have to sleep on when they have jaundice. 

And this little peach kept everyone smiling as she protectively watched over the new baby and reminded anyone who held her "That's Mama's baby." Yes, the protective older sister streak has arrived with a vengeance. She gets very distressed if baby sister is out of her or Mama's eyesight. 

Thankfully, Auntie Lauren and Grandma Sue know how to keep her busy and preoccupied. Lucky little girl. 

What a great May so far!

Cooking Up a Storm

The last few days have been filled with food, food, and more food. I have been cooking and I've been having a blast. I've been cooking for a variety of reasons but the best part of it is I've been cooking for others. I love experimenting in the kitchen and trying out different foods but once I've run through a recipe a couple of times, I want to try it out and see if it is a success for others too. 

Let me acknowledge once again in all of my cooking now how much of a debt of gratitude I owe to my favorite food blogger, Elana, at elanaspantry.com. Nearly 90% of these recipes come from her site with a few modifications here and there by me. She got me excited again about cooking and eating because she taught me through her blog that I could make food that was delicious and appetizing even with my food sensitivities. I owe her much for sharing all of her scrumptious recipes. She's got a great gluten-free cookbook coming out this summer that you can pre-order if you like, so check it out. I can't wait to get my copy. 

Monday I cooked because my sweet, multi-talented brother Adam came and put up three curtain rods and a towel rod for me. He keeps telling me that if I get a great drill I could do it myself. I keep telling him I would miss seeing his face. :) So, Adam and Michelle brought their little girl and Michelle's sister and we did dinner and FHE together. Of course, we girls chatted up a storm while Adam did the work but I think everyone had a good evening and we got to pull my table out from the wall and put it to good use. 

Menu for Monday night was 

• BBQ chicken
  
• crash hot potatoes
  
• spring salad with chopped almonds and apples and Elana's awesome ranch dressing
• asparagus sauteed in olive oil
• fresh strawberries and pineapple
• vanilla cupcakes

Tuesday was our monthly supper club with a group of friends where we each cook a dish around a theme and bring it to supper club and then eat and chat the night away. I was hosting for the month of May and since it was gluten-free night and most people are not gluten-free, I did a little extra cooking just so everyone could try out a variety of dishes. We had a great turn out, several people brought some excellent recipes and my favorite patio was put to good use. 

Menu for Tuesday night

• Rosemary apple chicken
• roasted veggies
• fresh strawberries
• Elana's chocolate chip cookies
• vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting
• blueberry muffins

Then last night I had to use some ground turkey I had had in the fridge for a few days and I made spinach turkey burgers. In all of my cooking, my mom and my sister are my ad hoc test kitchen so I will run food over to them to taste and try together. Despite all of that testing, I had not ever made my spinach turkey burgers or my special sauce for Meg, so I wanted her to try them both. She's a very receptive audience to all of my cooking attempts so I wanted to get her reaction to them. Then she had been asking for smoked paprika almonds again, so I whipped up a batch of those too. 

While I was cooking, Mom stopped by to try the leftovers from supper club. I love talking food with both of them because Mom had a few ideas for tweaking the blueberry muffins a bit and I had figured out a way I wanted to modify the cookies a bit and Meg had made the ranch dressing herself twice and we could compare notes. Cooking is always a collaborative effort whether it is over the stove or at the table and it is fun to experiment and try things together. 

Katy came by one night when I was knee-deep in cupcake batter and loving every second of it. She tasted and tried and even ran to the store for a last-minute item that I needed. In the midst of the hustle bustle she stopped and said, "Isn't cooking fun? It feels like an art to me some days like here is my oil painting or this is my watercolor" and I had to agree. That feeling isn't there every night but on the nights it does descend on me in the kitchen--well, it's pure magic. 

What kind of magic have you created in your kitchen lately? 

Dinner Plate Photo

Katy and I had dinner last night before heading off to hike Stewart Falls. Katy is another foodie friend (and Amy's sister) who happens to have celiac disease and some other food sensitivities so our diets are very similar and we talk about food often. Katy has been doing this a lot longer than I have though so it inspires me to hear what she is making and we share favorite recipes with each other.


I love to cook for her because we have such fun talking and experimenting together. And it is thanks to Katy that we have a photo of dinner. She styled the plates and took photos. I likely would have forgotten until the meal was over and then I would have wished I had remembered to pull out the camera.


Menu:
Spinach turkey burgers with almond mozzarella cheese
Spring salad with chopped almonds and apples and Elana's awesome ranch dressing
Zucchini and yellow squash sauteed in olive oil
Strawberry and pineapple salad


Any of this look yummy to you?

Living Room Outdoors

Six months ago on a cold Tuesday, I woke up early, got ready and went and stood in line at 6:30AM and then spent an hour waiting to vote in the presidential election of 2008. While I'm grateful I could vote that is not the most memorable event of that day.

I had been watching the weather reports closely and I had a pretty strong inkling that we were going to get our first snowstorm of the season. I had one last task that needed to be completed before that happened--clean off my patio for the winter and store the outdoor furniture. 

The reason I waited so long to complete this task is that I love, love, love my little patio and I don't like to shut it down until I'm positive I can't use it because of the weather. It is so useful because it nearly doubles my living space. While I love my little place it isn't loaded with elbow room so this patio effectively doubles my square footage. 

Photo from last year. The couch and table have both been refurbished and there is a little more art on the walls but seriously I think I need an art intervention. The bare walls are begging for it.

During the spring, summer and fall evenings it is so pleasant to sit out there and visit or read or even just sit and listen to the crickets singing. When the n&ns come over on Sunday, they love to play and eat out there too. It effectively opens up the entire backyard to them for exploration as well which I love. 

So, here is the patio this morning before I unpacked the furniture and prepped it for all its summertime joy. 

And here is the patio after. Ready for visiting, sitting, chatting, and eating. I realize it doesn't look as wonderful in the photo as it looks to me in reality, but I bet you understand my excitement. Tomorrow the n&ns will play out here after church while we eat apples and green hot dogs (meaning lettuce-wrapped, I just called them green hot dogs the first time I served them and the name stuck). Tuesday night our little supper club will sit out here and chat while we sample yummy food and recipes. And one night I will sit out here and blog too! 

Yes, the patio is open for service. Welcome to my official start of summer.

Food Friday

via funwallpaper.blogspot.com

Are you all tired of hearing about my allergy-free diet? I got the most comments on the photos from my recent trip to Massachusetts so it makes me wonder if I'm boring you to tears when I talk about all things health. I've got to admit that besides school and work, the other topic that consumes my mind endlessly is health, my health, your health, our health and how to get healthier.

So much to learn. So little time it seems.

I'm starting my fifth month on the allergy-free diet. All that really means is that I'm eating more of the things that are good for me and less of the things that I've long suspected give me a bit of trouble. Slowly over the last several weeks, I've felt my energy build and build and build to a point that I feel more alive and whole than I've felt in a long, long time. Not to overstate the case but I feel like I've discovered a secret long hidden and long wondered about in my life--what it means to feel good on a daily basis.

Is this how the rest of you live life on a regular, daily basis? Because I've got to tell you that having energy like this feels like a rock star life. And the universe has been holding out on me for far too long. I could get addicted to feeling this way each and every day of my life.

Now, I'm human and I know that I'm going to experiment, test the boundaries and generally push my own buttons to confirm what I've learned so far. I know that just because I feel spectacular for one day or even for many days in a row does not guarantee that this feeling will continue unabated ad infinitum. I'm just going to be okay with the process wherever it leads and whatever I learn from it.

And for now, that means the allergy-free diet is staying.

At some point in the future, whether in three weeks or three months or three years, I'm going to do the second phase of the allergy diet which means challenging each of the foods that I have a sensitivity to and trying them each one by one for a twenty-four period and then waiting three days to see if I experience any negative consequences from that particular food item. For now though, I mostly want to focus on feeling good and not worry about the second phase just yet.

I went to the doctor today and confirmed that this lifestyle change is having a marvelous effect on my overall health as well as my particular health issues. Yeah! Take that metabolic syndrome and PCOS! I've finally found a secret weapon. And it tastes goooood.

On my trip to MA, Amy and I spent a lot of time being foodie friends and discussing all things yummy and tantalizing. I'm continually surprised by Amy and her sister Kate's natural, intuitive leanings toward not only good health but good food too. Good food is fun with them. And good food is really, really yummy with them.

So, in the spirit of simple, warm, yummy food here is a very easy recipe for roasted veggies that Amy made one day. I've done a version of this recipe before but Amy has a magical touch and these veggies and potatoes came out tasting so yummy that I've made this simple dish at least twice since I've been home. Pair it with roasted chicken or spinach turkey burgers and a big salad and you've got a spectacular meal.

RECIPE: Roasted Veggies and Potatoes

1 yam or sweet potato

2-3 red potatoes

1 large Vidalia or sweet onion

1 red pepper

light or virgin olive oil

extra virgin olive oil (only used after veggies are cooked)

sea salt or kosher salt

Slice and quarter the yam and red potatoes. Slice the onion into long, thin strips. Slice the red pepper after removing the seeds and stem. Put everything in a bowl and toss with regular or light virgin olive oil until veggies are well coated. Layer in a 9x13 glass baking dish and salt then bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Pull out pan once during baking process and turn all veggies. After an hour the veggies should be soft. If not, you may want to bake a little longer. Pull them from the oven and let cool for five minutes and then garnish with extra virgin olive oil and salt if necessary.

Makes a warm, hearty dish.

I'd love to hear any great recipes from you. Also, have you made any health changes that have significantly improved your energy? And are you still doing those things? Let's chat.

Looking Up

The sky yesterday while I was in my car

I was in the canyon yesterday driving up to some property in Midway and admiring the blue-black mountains and the azure sky and the sun rippling through the leaves of trees freshly-minted with new growth. It is hard not to feel steeped in nature when I simply drive through the canyon. 

Of course, it is a motion-picture kind of beauty--rather surreal and rushing by my window-swathed capsule of a car. I'm not actually out among the leaves and the dirt and bugs getting sunburned and hot and dirty. I'm sitting removed from the struggle of nature but admiring its effect. 

I feel desperate at times to get out of my brick-and-mortar office into "the real world." This particular itch seems especially troublesome each spring when the birds are chirping constantly, the trees are lush and full, and the mountains seem so soft, green and inviting. It's like I'm nutrient-deficient in rocks and wildflowers. I feel like if I don't get outside soon I just might expire--at my desk. 

So, my drive up the canyon re-ignited my itch. Or at least brought it into full relief. This itch has been niggling around my brain for several weeks. Now it is punching me in the face. It says rather vehemently "GET OUTSIDE!" 

Sunshine, cool breezes and green, green grass. Mountain trails, pine trees and cold, rushing water. That's what I want. Yet, my life is tied to desk for eight hours a day and my free hours seem consumed with cooking, cleaning, attending class, homework, and whatever else may keep me inside the confines of four walls. 

And then I remembered. Way back in the halls of my memory I remembered a Geography 101 class I took a long, long time ago. The professor who taught the class was understandably focused on all things outdoorsy. One of our first tasks was to record barometric readings each day along with the temperature. And then we had to keep a journal about what the sky looked like. Excuse me? What the sky looked like? Who cares what the sky looks like? It had something to do with the kind of clouds in the sky and what those clouds could tell me about the weather. 

What it did to me was give me a crick in my neck. I found that being forced to look at the sky each day and contemplate clouds required a lot of looking up. And thinking. And pondering. What did the clouds look like? What were they doing? Were they puffy and white like cotton balls or wispy and fleeting? Were dark clouds on the horizon? Which direction were they coming from? What kind of storm might I expect from their appearance? 

All very annoying questions that made me have to stop and contemplate the vast blueness of the sky on a too-regular basis. 

What that too-regular basis did for me was scratch my itch. Looking at the sky each day and recording my thoughts usually occurred on campus when I was in the midst of a heavy school schedule and rushing to and fro in all of my perceived busyness. Looking up forced me to slow down. Looking up made me see the world around me and realize that nature wasn't just in the mountains or up the canyon or going to the lake. Nature was right here above me telling me a story through the clouds. 

Looking up reminded me of lying in the grass as a child and staring up at the vastness of the sky as I dreamed of the kind of life I hoped to live. Looking up reminded me that I was small part of a very big world. Looking up made me think of God. 

Which is why just yesterday when my itch was itching me the most and I was wishing I could be anywhere but in my car amid traffic headed towards a full night of "things to do" that I was startled out of my rushing to and fro when I glanced at the sky and saw some puffy white clouds and felt the warm, late day sunshine. Just a glance away was that beauty I seemed to so be itching for. 

Right there in front of me. 

I've just got to remember to keep looking up.