24 January 2011
Felted Fingerless gloves
Well all those sewing classes when I was younger are coming in handy. Actually, I used to sew all the time but when I moved to the Virgin Islands, I sold my machine to a friend. I saved my niece's from my parents, where all the kids were playing with it, quite a few months ago. It was sitting in a corner of my bedroom until yesterday. I dusted it off, readusted everything, made some bobbins and spent all afternoon sewing. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Renee and I made 3 pairs for her friends. I made the two above and started 4 more. I will try and post in the next couple of days the instructions. I am thinking of selling these, so if you are interested, let me know.
Here are some other ones that I made before Christmas.
23 January 2011
Calendar: Love & Logic
This is the calendar we made for Renee. She has the choice to do the jobs on it but she has to suffer the consequences of not doing them. Right now she has no time left for TV, Wii, or PC, so we will see how the morning goes. The Love& Logic program is hard, mostly because it requires that you don't get angry when they choose to not do things. Letting go of that is very difficult but we are working on it.
It is -7 degrees today!!! But sunny and clear and very pretty.
Time for French Toast! Happy Sunday.
20 January 2011
Healthy Habits and destressers(is that even a word?)
In an effort to be more healthy and create a "Better Version of Me", I am trying to get more exercise. This weekend, we went to Howard Christianson Nature Center http://kentconservation.org/hcnc.php , me snowshoeing, DD and DH skiing. We had a blast and got to enjoy the outside.
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| Enchanted Forest |
I am also walking the treadmill at least 3 times a week and using Myfitnesspal.com. It is a great way to track calories and exercise. They even have a really cool app for my phone.
In an effort to reduce stress in our house and have Little Miss Naughty, DD, not be so naughty, we created a system for her to earn things like TV, Wii, and PC time. We track all the good things she does everyday on a calendar with stickers. Following the Love & Logic program, we give her the choice of what and if she does anything. To my surprise, it has worked wonderful!!! So far, only a little bit of complaining and NO tantrums since we started on Sunday. She is really enjoying seeing how much time she has accumulated. And my house is clean!!!
10 January 2011
Follow this blog and get a chance to win a Lidia Matticchio Bastianich cookbook
I received two copies of this for Christmas. One was autographed, which I am keeping. The other got slightly damaged when our Christmas tree fell over. Lucky for you, I cannot return it. But it is still in good condition as the damage is limited to the back cover and the lower corner of some of the back pages. It is a wonderful cookbook with gorgeous photos of Italy. I plan on drawing the winning name from the followers of this blog on February 28th. Good luck!!
Paella
Paella is one of my favorite dishes. The flavor combinations are amazing and you can pretty much clean out your fridge to make it. While I was working out on Saturday, I was watching Daisy on Create TV. She made two paellas, one with chorizo, chicken, and seafood and one the was all veggies. I remembered that I had bought some really nice spanish chorizo at Costco that I hadn't used yet. This paella has charizo, chicken, mushrooms, onions, manzilla olives, capers, and peas.
I should add that Paella is made with Achiote (annetto) seeds or oil. I have a hard time finding it but I did find that Knorr makes a powdered achiote and corriander that works great.
08 January 2011
Great Day for Soup
My friend Betsy made Carrot Ginger soup this week and it sounded wonderful. So, I thought I would give it a shot. I have been on a ginger kick this week and made ginger tea from fresh ginger for the first time. I love cutting into fresh ginger as it has an amazing lemony smell. I was going to make the version of Carrot Ginger soup that Bets made (vegan) but I remembered I had some homemade turkey broth in the freezer that I wanted to use.
It is very cold today but sunny. When I checked this morning at 11:00am it was only 16 degrees. It has now warmed up to 21 degrees!!! This soup is great for a cold day as the ginger has a wonderful warming effect and it makes the whole house smell incredible. I enjoyed looking out my kitchen window at the snow glittering in the sunshine while I was cooking. Today is a good day.
CARROT GINGER SOUP
INGREDIENTS
1 medium sweet onion, sliced thin
2 lbs. of carrots, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic minced
fresh ginger peeled and sliced thin (this is to taste, I used approximately 1/2 cup sliced but you can use more or less)
1/4 cup cooking sherry, dry white wine, or water
8 cups of broth, chicken or turkey
1 14 oz can of light coconut milk
4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts
fresh ground pepper
fluer de sel or other course sea salt
in a heavy sauce pan 7 quarts or larger, saute onions in olive oil on low heat until translucent.
add garlic and saute until caramelized
pour in sherry and deglaze pan
add carrots and broth
increase heat to medium high until boiling and then reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour
let cool for 15 minutes and then puree in small batches in either a blender or food processor.
stir in coconut milk
garnish with fresh ground pepper, fleur de sel, and pine nuts
The following is the appoximate breakdown of nutritional information.
07 January 2011
Paying it forward
I am a firm believer in the power of random acts of kindness. I was pleasantly surprised to read on a coworkers blog about the notes of encouragement I had posted on the mirror at work months ago. I believe it just said "you are beautiful the way you are". I also try to pay for the person behind me in the drive-thru once a month and even though I can't see the effect it has, I can imagine that it makes their day brighter and that makes me feel like I am making a small difference. See the link for info on operation beautiful. http://operationbeautiful.com/send-in-your-notes/nce.
Someone hacked my Twitter account. I have deactivated since I do not use it anyway. Please disregard any messages you may have received from me on Twitter
--
Tracie
Natalie Dee
I love Natalie Dee. I try to check her site everyday. She is quirky but funny. http://www.nataliedee.com/archives/2011/Jan/
06 January 2011
Got blogger for my droid
So excited because I can blog from my phone now. A much as I enjoy the holidays, I am glad they are over. Work has been super busy. I am looking forward to staying home this weekend. I am going to try and make ginger carrot soup! Time for a martini and some mindless tv. Caio
New hobby?
My friend Kaleena told me how to make these. So, I made all of these, plus a few more, as gifts for Christmas. I have already had requests from friends of friends to make more. As soon as things calm down as home, I will be all over that. They are super easy to make and lets be use my creative side.
Happy New Year
I can't believe how little I posted the past few months. This is basically a test because I seem to be having some issues.
06 August 2010
31 July 2010
28 July 2010
27 July 2010
Lemon Cucumbers and Refridgerator Pickles
These cucumbers are so good and refreshing during the hot summer months.
Thin slice on madoline slicer 3 cucumbers, one lemon, and one small onion.
Layer in a glass dish. Add 1/2 white vinegar, 1/3 lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of sugar. optional 1 teaspoon of rosemary or dill. Refridgerate. They will be good in a couple of days and keep about a month
This was my first attempt at pickles and I hope they turn out. I just used a recipe for refridgerator pickles that I found online and of course add more garlic and some hot pepper flakes. I also did dilly beans. I am going to try real canning in a couple of weeks.
Summer Squash and Tomato Tart
Summer Squash and Tomato Tart
This was easy but time comsuming--so yummy and pretty.
line tart pan with cresent roll dough
spread on pesto
mix one cup of ricotta with one egg and spread that over pesto layer
layer 8 oz of Gruyer cheese sliced or shreadded
slice thin with a mandoline slicer one medium yellow squash (or zucchini, one medium onion, and two medium tomatos
saute squash, onions, and one clove of garlic in olive oil with one teaspoon of rosemary until slightly tender
alternately layer in a circular pattern squash and tomato
bake in 400 degree preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes.
23 July 2010
CSA finally kicking in!!
Wow, we got a huge delivery this week. Cucumbers, pickles, green peppers, hot peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cabbage, green beans, wax beens and basil.
So last night I made a huge amount of pesto; cukes and onions marinated in lemon, vinegar, sugar and rosemary; cucumber tea sandwiches; and a mock lasange with zucchini, pesto and tomato!!
Last week we also go a lot of cukes so I made a cold soup I found in Martha Stewart Living. It called for buttermilk but I used heavy cream. In the past I haven't liked buttermilk, but I bought some yesterday and am going to make the soup again. It was sooo yummy.
All I want to do is cook!!!!! I will take more pics this weekend. I love summer harvests.
So last night I made a huge amount of pesto; cukes and onions marinated in lemon, vinegar, sugar and rosemary; cucumber tea sandwiches; and a mock lasange with zucchini, pesto and tomato!!
Last week we also go a lot of cukes so I made a cold soup I found in Martha Stewart Living. It called for buttermilk but I used heavy cream. In the past I haven't liked buttermilk, but I bought some yesterday and am going to make the soup again. It was sooo yummy.
All I want to do is cook!!!!! I will take more pics this weekend. I love summer harvests.
09 June 2010
28 May 2010
Tracie
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21 May 2010
09 May 2010
02 May 2010
03 April 2010
07 March 2010
03 March 2010
Cool website for coupons, free samples, and reviews.
www.vocalpoint.com
I joined this site about a 6 weeks ago and was kinda bumbed because I didn't receive anything, so apparently it takes awhile. Then finally last week, I got a free sample of Kashi cereal with 5 coupons, 1 for a free box and 4 for $1.50 off cereal and crackers. Meijer had them on sale last week also so I ended up getting 5 boxes of Kashi cereal for less than $1.50 each. I also got a buy 1 get one free for Starkist Tuna Sensations and a coupon for some Clever Kids Fruit snacks for cheap also but I can't remember exactly what the amount was. They just ask that you then so to the web site and review the products.
I joined this site about a 6 weeks ago and was kinda bumbed because I didn't receive anything, so apparently it takes awhile. Then finally last week, I got a free sample of Kashi cereal with 5 coupons, 1 for a free box and 4 for $1.50 off cereal and crackers. Meijer had them on sale last week also so I ended up getting 5 boxes of Kashi cereal for less than $1.50 each. I also got a buy 1 get one free for Starkist Tuna Sensations and a coupon for some Clever Kids Fruit snacks for cheap also but I can't remember exactly what the amount was. They just ask that you then so to the web site and review the products.
02 March 2010
Endometriosis Awareness Month
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. So, I thought I would share my story.
My periods were also bad. Very painful and heavy. During my teens and early 20's, I was told that I would just have to deal with it, and it was normal.
I went on Depo Provera at age 20. Luckily, this helped for years but it also delayed my diagnosis. Depo is often prescribed for endo. When I was 29, my Nurse Practioner (and employer) took me off Depo because I was having break-through bleeding every couple of weeks lasting for two weeks at a time. I went back on Oral Birth Control and ended up have recurrent yeast infections for 6 months and severe abdominal and low back pain with my peroids. So, we decided to go off everything. My peroids got extremely heavy, frequent (every 21 days) and painful. She suspected at that time, that I had endometriosis. I had health insurance but not great coverage. I was also living in the US Virgin Islands at that time and the healthcare there is not great. The only way to diagnose endometriosis is by a surgical procedure called a laporoscopy.
Well, not being on any birth control, I ended up getting pregnant. This bought me a couple years of being pain free. Pregnancy put endo in remission and I also nursed my daughter for 18 months. I was also back on Depo Provera.
When my marriage fell apart, I returned to the states and went off the Depo Provera again. (it is now known that Depro increases your chances of bone loss so they do not let you stay on it more than a few years now). I went back on the pill and all my symptoms came back. This time, I was having constant pain, not just when I was getting my peroids. My Primary Care doctor suspected endo. I told her that my old practioner had thought that also, so she refered me to a GYN. We scheduled a lap in Nov 2006 and the diagnosis was confirmed and the visible endo was lasered. Within a month, my pain was back. My GYN told me that he was suspecting that I also had a condition called Adenomysis which is similar to endo but the endometrial tissue grows inside the uterine muscle and cause the uterus to grow enlarged. He was suspecting that this was causing a lot of my pain. They only cure for Adenomyosis is a hysteretomy. I wanted to get this done but my empolyer would not give the time off. Because of the endo and adeno effecting my immune system, I was getting sick all the time and had be missing work. Because it was a small business, they did not have to follow the laws of the FMLA. In February, I contracted a virsus and had dime size lesions on my throat and I ended up missing a week of work which lead to me being terminated. Luckily, I documented everything was still able to get unemployment and get on Medicaid. So I ended up having a hysterectomy in April of 2007. My Gyn ended up having to do it abdominally so that they could do a bi-section of the uterus to confirm the diagnosis of Adenomyosis. Also, my uterus and cervix were adhered to my bladder and my ovaries had endo and adhesions which were removed. I did talk my doctor into letting my keep my ovaries on the condition that if I had further problems, we would remove them.
I was pain free for almost a year and the pain was back. Not a bad as before at first but then I ended up in the ER. They did a ultrasound and found a 3cm endometrioma(chocolate cyst) on the right ovary and a 3cm cyst on the left. We did not know for sure that this is what they were, just that there was a mass on my right so I had an ovarian cancer scare.
When I had surgery to remove my ovaries in April 2008. There were again adhesions.
The pain was gone but then I had to deal with surgical menopause. NOT FUN. Hot flashes all the time, weight gain with celulite, mood swings and no HRT because of the history of endo. I made 8 months and pain came back. In Dec of 2008, I had surgery to remove more adhesions. The surgeon did not see any endo, so we decided to try HRT. In Aug of 2009 the pain returned. It has progressed to the point that I am talking daily narcotics to control the pain. They are suspecting either more adhesions or recurrence of endo. They will not do surgery on me again unless I have a bowell obstruction because surgery causes adhesions. I went of the HRT to see if they pain will be reduced. That was over 2 months ago, and had not seemed to make a difference. So right now, it is pain management. I can function on the pain killers most days and am hoping that the pain doesn't get worse.
Endometriosis and Adenomyosis are not fatal but they do not know what causes them and there is not any known cure. These aweful diseases greatly diminish quality of life for many of the sufferers. I am lucky that I was able to have a child because that is not always the case. For many women, it causes infilitity issues.
I am thankful every day that my pain is managable and that I have great friends and family I can lean on.
I am participating in a study to to and isolate the gene that may make people more likely to develope endo. They this there might be some genetic predisposition but that it is probably causes by enviromental factors, such as dioxins and other chemicals. This is one of the reasons why I try to eat organic and non-processed foods as much as possible and use natural cleaners. Hopefully one day, there will be a cure.
My periods were also bad. Very painful and heavy. During my teens and early 20's, I was told that I would just have to deal with it, and it was normal.
I went on Depo Provera at age 20. Luckily, this helped for years but it also delayed my diagnosis. Depo is often prescribed for endo. When I was 29, my Nurse Practioner (and employer) took me off Depo because I was having break-through bleeding every couple of weeks lasting for two weeks at a time. I went back on Oral Birth Control and ended up have recurrent yeast infections for 6 months and severe abdominal and low back pain with my peroids. So, we decided to go off everything. My peroids got extremely heavy, frequent (every 21 days) and painful. She suspected at that time, that I had endometriosis. I had health insurance but not great coverage. I was also living in the US Virgin Islands at that time and the healthcare there is not great. The only way to diagnose endometriosis is by a surgical procedure called a laporoscopy.
Well, not being on any birth control, I ended up getting pregnant. This bought me a couple years of being pain free. Pregnancy put endo in remission and I also nursed my daughter for 18 months. I was also back on Depo Provera.
When my marriage fell apart, I returned to the states and went off the Depo Provera again. (it is now known that Depro increases your chances of bone loss so they do not let you stay on it more than a few years now). I went back on the pill and all my symptoms came back. This time, I was having constant pain, not just when I was getting my peroids. My Primary Care doctor suspected endo. I told her that my old practioner had thought that also, so she refered me to a GYN. We scheduled a lap in Nov 2006 and the diagnosis was confirmed and the visible endo was lasered. Within a month, my pain was back. My GYN told me that he was suspecting that I also had a condition called Adenomysis which is similar to endo but the endometrial tissue grows inside the uterine muscle and cause the uterus to grow enlarged. He was suspecting that this was causing a lot of my pain. They only cure for Adenomyosis is a hysteretomy. I wanted to get this done but my empolyer would not give the time off. Because of the endo and adeno effecting my immune system, I was getting sick all the time and had be missing work. Because it was a small business, they did not have to follow the laws of the FMLA. In February, I contracted a virsus and had dime size lesions on my throat and I ended up missing a week of work which lead to me being terminated. Luckily, I documented everything was still able to get unemployment and get on Medicaid. So I ended up having a hysterectomy in April of 2007. My Gyn ended up having to do it abdominally so that they could do a bi-section of the uterus to confirm the diagnosis of Adenomyosis. Also, my uterus and cervix were adhered to my bladder and my ovaries had endo and adhesions which were removed. I did talk my doctor into letting my keep my ovaries on the condition that if I had further problems, we would remove them.
I was pain free for almost a year and the pain was back. Not a bad as before at first but then I ended up in the ER. They did a ultrasound and found a 3cm endometrioma(chocolate cyst) on the right ovary and a 3cm cyst on the left. We did not know for sure that this is what they were, just that there was a mass on my right so I had an ovarian cancer scare.
When I had surgery to remove my ovaries in April 2008. There were again adhesions.
The pain was gone but then I had to deal with surgical menopause. NOT FUN. Hot flashes all the time, weight gain with celulite, mood swings and no HRT because of the history of endo. I made 8 months and pain came back. In Dec of 2008, I had surgery to remove more adhesions. The surgeon did not see any endo, so we decided to try HRT. In Aug of 2009 the pain returned. It has progressed to the point that I am talking daily narcotics to control the pain. They are suspecting either more adhesions or recurrence of endo. They will not do surgery on me again unless I have a bowell obstruction because surgery causes adhesions. I went of the HRT to see if they pain will be reduced. That was over 2 months ago, and had not seemed to make a difference. So right now, it is pain management. I can function on the pain killers most days and am hoping that the pain doesn't get worse.
Endometriosis and Adenomyosis are not fatal but they do not know what causes them and there is not any known cure. These aweful diseases greatly diminish quality of life for many of the sufferers. I am lucky that I was able to have a child because that is not always the case. For many women, it causes infilitity issues.
I am thankful every day that my pain is managable and that I have great friends and family I can lean on.
I am participating in a study to to and isolate the gene that may make people more likely to develope endo. They this there might be some genetic predisposition but that it is probably causes by enviromental factors, such as dioxins and other chemicals. This is one of the reasons why I try to eat organic and non-processed foods as much as possible and use natural cleaners. Hopefully one day, there will be a cure.
16 February 2010
Green smoothie of the day
I made this one this morning.
Fresh pineapple, mango, and banana. Frozen Blueberries. Kale and spinach. Strawberry/banana V8.
Goals this year:
Daily green smoothie
Eat less than 3oz of meat every other day.
Quit smoking (10 days so far!)
Start using the treadmill
and blog more :)
Fresh pineapple, mango, and banana. Frozen Blueberries. Kale and spinach. Strawberry/banana V8.
Goals this year:
Daily green smoothie
Eat less than 3oz of meat every other day.
Quit smoking (10 days so far!)
Start using the treadmill
and blog more :)
06 February 2010
01 February 2010
Green Smoothies
Ok, I have been on a smoothie kick for awhile but my friend Queen suggested I try green smoothies. So, I dropped the yogurt and tofu. Yesterday I made one with the the following.
Frozen Blueberries, mango, banana, orange, frozen watermelon, spinach, oriental kale, and mint.
Then my friend Betsy posted that she was drinking on and it had cinnamon and cayenne pepper. So today I made this one.
Frozen blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon, a banana, spinach, oriental kale, mint, cayenne, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
I am also starting some detox tea. I was going to to the Ulimate Cleanse from Garden of Eden but I have to have a colonoscopy next Tuesday so I am going to wait until after that.
Frozen Blueberries, mango, banana, orange, frozen watermelon, spinach, oriental kale, and mint.
Then my friend Betsy posted that she was drinking on and it had cinnamon and cayenne pepper. So today I made this one.
Frozen blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon, a banana, spinach, oriental kale, mint, cayenne, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
I am also starting some detox tea. I was going to to the Ulimate Cleanse from Garden of Eden but I have to have a colonoscopy next Tuesday so I am going to wait until after that.
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