My Mother’s Words of Wisdom

“If you’re going to limit red meat, at least eat it during the week of your period. You’ll feel better.”

“When you plant peonies, make sure not to plant them too deep. All you really need to do is scoot some dirt to the side, plant the root, then lightly cover it with dirt.”

“Choose to buy jewelry that you can grow into. You don’t want to be 50 and have puny rings.”

“You should know how to make guacamole, sangria and a good vinaigrette, at the very least.”

“Nobody should be able to tell when you have makeup on.”

“Have at least one guy friend that you’ve never slept with.”

“Nobody needs to hear about how little, how much or what you’re eating, especially your date.”

“Don’t pick at your face.”

“Don’t go to bed angry or with makeup on.”

“Don’t be afraid of color. If you want to paint a room a bright color, try one wall only and go from there.”

“If you want to tile your bathroom, do it. If you don’t know how, learn.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Books, Movies, Movies, Books

I need a reading project. And today I thought of one. Since I just read the Godfather and I had never seen the movie before (I know, I know.. I’ve since watched it.) And I’m now reading Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow and I’ve never seen that movie. I’m going to spend the summer with books that eventually became movies, which I’ve never seen. Sound like fun? Maybe I’ll even turn it into a movie vs book review, which might be fun. And because I LOVE the internet and because I LOVE my BFF Google, this index is going to help me. Yay!

Dude, I’m Rich

Seriously. I got an email about it. Dr. Yusufu Ali contacted me about the $8.3 million I inherited. All I have to do to claim it is send him my identity and they’ll transfer it via ATM deposit.

AND apparently, Andy Hornby needs some help transferring about 30 million pounds from the Halifax Bank of Scotland to an offshore account. That will surely net me some cash. I love free money!

Stream of Consciousness Running

It’s early. I can sleep in and run later. No, I really need to get up and run. I’ll be glad that I did later today. Ok, do I have everything? Neoprene IT band thingy, RoadID (thanks for the coupon CharlotteHarris!), headphones, MP3 player. Ok, I’ll run to the stop sign, see how I feel and then turn around if I have to. If I feel good, I’ll keep going and do the whole 3.5 mile loop. Ok. Slow down. Don’t start out too fast. Oh shit, watch the car! Dude, I’m in the freaking crosswalk.. seriously, wake up before you drive. Heels first, watch your form. Ok, first hill. Nice and easy. Stop sign. Hmm. I feel great, keep going. Ok, second hill. A little slower, one foot in front of the other. Keep going. I need to remember to put my bread on the grocery list. I should make eggs for breakfast. Or French toast. Yum. Crap, red light. I need a better song. [singing, singing] Green. Ok, tired legs. I’ll run to the school and stop if I have to. Dog.. cute. School, yay. Not bad, I can make the last half mile. Don’t be a wimp, just keep going. Ok, another good song, yay. Last hill, oh my god, it’s the last hill. I’ve never been so happy to be at the top of the last hill. Now, sprint.. to… the… driveway… TIME!

See, that felt good.

In Which the Internet Stumps Me Again

Ok.. so my blog traffic took a nosedive. And I’m not entirely sure what the hell happened, but apparently in the last week, the gazillions of folks searching for ice cream who used to land on my site, now find themselves elsewhere and this makes me sad. Because I do post a lot about my obsession with ice cream. And maybe if I use the words ice cream enough, it will help. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream is delicious. Eh? Hmm..

Springy Breakfasts

I love when the weather gets warm and the sun comes up early. Yesterday I ran at 6:30 am and it wasn’t pitch black out. It was perfect. I’m sure I’m like most people. When the weather gets warm, my diet gets cooler. I grill more. I eat more salads and sandwiches. Now that berries are coming into season, I’ll be trading my hot breakfasts for cooler ones. Instead of hot oatmeal, I’ll have homemade granola, yogurt and berries. Or a big bowl of cereal and banana. Instead of scrambled eggs, I’ll make a plate of a sliced hard boiled egg, an apple, some Laughing Cow soft cheese, cucumbers and Wasa crispbread. Or multi-grain bakery bread, feta, olives and tomatoes.

Granola is actually relatively easy to make and is so much better for you than what you buy in the store. I find I prefer mine to even the best organic brands. (Bear Naked is good, but it’s too flavored for my taste.) Plus mine contains all those yummy MUFAs that Prevention Magazine and Crabby over at Cranky Fitness are always talking about.

Here is my recipe for Maple Nut Granola. It’s ErinSlick-modified from one I got out of the Cooking with Shelburne Farms Cookbook that my in-laws got me. If you hate nuts, leave them out. Exchange the nuts and seeds for whatever types you like. Add the salt, it really makes a difference. The original recipe is doubled. I half it because it makes a ton.

Maple Nut Granola
makes about 3.5 cups

1/8 c of vegetable oil
1/8 c real maple syrup, grade b for strongest flavor
1/8 c honey
1 1/2 tsp of brown sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/8 tsp of salt
1 1/2 c old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1/2 c raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 c plain, unsalted walnuts
2 handfuls of ground flax seed
2 handfuls of wheat germ
1 c dried fruit

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet or shallow roasting pan with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together the oil, syrup, honey, maple sugar, cinnamon and salt.

In a large bowl, mix the oats, seeds, wheat germ and nuts. Pour the wet stuff over the dry and mix gently. Spread the granola evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Reduce the oven temp to 300F and leave the oven door ajar to bring the temperature down while you use a spatula to gently turn the granola — try not to break up the clumps. Bake for another 8-10 minutes until the granola is toasty and brown. Watch it carefully, the sugar will burn easily.

Wait until it’s completely cool to break up the clumps. Mix in the dried fruit and store in an airtight container.

Changing Up My Freebie List

I’d like to register some alterations to my Freebie list.

Current list:

• Paul Newman Circa 1964 (preferably from the Sting or Butch Cassidy)
• Jason Patric
• Scott Speedman
• Josh Lucas
• Jack Johnson

I’d like to officially swap out Paul Newman Circa 1964 for Robert Downey, Jr’s Iron Man. Yummy.

Bad Idea: Smaller Ice Cream Cartons

… I love when I realize I’m not entirely crazy. The Edy’s “half” gallon of ice cream container has shrunk. WTF? Why would they do this to me?

You know that when the prices stabilize and things return to normal, they’re so not going to increase the carton size.. It’s going to stay puny. I hate them.

Good to the Last Drop

I’m not a huge coffee drinker. I actually prefer tea. But when I do drink coffee, I like cafe au lait. I add a ton of hot milk and two splendas until it literally looks and sorta tastes like coffee ice cream melted in my mug and was heated. If I’m feeling spicy, I’ll add cinnamon to this. Sometimes, I’ll get a cappuccino. I’m a pretty simple person. I don’t love Starbucks and only purchase coffee out when I’m in an Italian restaurant. In the past, I’ve always bought beans or grounds from the wall of those fancy supermarket coffees. I steer clear of the flavors, but I grind the beans and pay something like $8.00 a pound for coffee. My dad calls it “uppity coffee.”

So he visited this past weekend and made coffee every morning. It was the best coffee I’ve had in a long time. It was Maxwell House. I admit half the fun in buying coffee is grinding the beans, but apparently plain, old, regular, boring Maxwell House tastes best. Go figure.

The Song in My Head

Stuck.. so stuck…