New Eyes
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. –Marcel Proust Writing my introduction yesterday reminded me why I moved to Florida, and I realized I haven’t been to the beach in quite a while. Wednesdays are my days off, so after I dropped my daughter off I drove to the beach for my run. It was like I was seeing it with new eyes- or, at least old eyes that I haven’t used in a while. When I first moved here I used to look around and think “I’m so lucky- I can’t believe I live here!” Now it seems like all I do is complain about the heat, so it was good to appreciate the fact that I live right near the ocean and DON’T HAVE A WINTER ANYMORE. After my run, and a swim in the ocean, I continued on to do errands. As I made the rounds, I thought about my NaBloPoMo theme, “Every Day Counts.” It almost feels like it’s cheating to do it in November. It’s easy to be present and appreciate each day during the holidays. My tea looks like this: And the parking lot of the grocery store looks like this: I don’t even need new eyes! The world is doing all the work for me. But what happens when the holidays are over and everything goes back to normal? I’m remembering a Christmas years ago- my daughter was three and my son was nine. One evening the three of us went for a walk to look at all the houses decorated in our neighborhood. We walked along exclaiming “Look at that one! It’s Santa! Ooh, it’s the Grinch! Look, these people have an entire nativity scene on their roof!” As my son and I ooh-ed and ah-ed over all the decorations, my daughter bent down to look at something on the sidewalk and exclaimed “Ooooh! A rock!” A rock? No, no, no… that’s not Christmas-y! We’re supposed to be looking at Christmas lights! A rock isn’t special. But to her, it was. Little kids have an incredible ability to find wonder everywhere- I guess because their eyes literally are new. My real challenge is going to be appreciating every day when the holidays are over. When all the decorations are gone and everything seems drab and blah I’m going to challenge myself, every day, to look around and be able to say “Ooooh… a rock.” Check back tomorrow to see how the rest of my NaBloPoMo project is going. Am I getting more sleep? Am I doing better at not comparing what I’m doing to something “better?” And how about the part about not letting other people bring me down? All will be revealed!
NaBloPoMo: Belated Introduction and Colbert Questionert!
I’ve noticed that other bloggers are doing a little NaBloPoMo introduction, and every time I read one I think “What a good idea! I should have done that!” Well… better late than never. Here we go: I’m Jenny! I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, but 24 years ago I moved to South Florida to escape my very severe SAD. I’m married and have an almost-21-year-old son and an almost-15-year-old daughter (both my kids have birthdays in December!). My son is a junior at Baylor University and my daughter is a freshman in high school. I work as a massage therapist. This is my second career- up until I moved to Florida I was a professional trumpet player. If you/ve been reading for a while, you may be sensing a theme here. My husband plays the trumpet, my son plays the trumpet, and my daughter broke the mold by choosing flute. I don’t play anymore, but music is a big part of our lives. I love running, reading, and watching football. And I love blogging and reading other people’s blogs! Speaking of which… A couple weeks ago Stephany posted her answers to the Colbert Questionert and I’m stealing the idea from her. Grab a pen and paper and let’s go! Best sandwich?—Several years ago I got a tofu banh mi from a vegan restaurant in Tallahassee- this still stands out in my mind as the best sandwich eating experience, ever. What’s one thing you own that you really should throw out?—The pajamas I’m wearing right now have holes in them, so I should probably choose them! What is the scariest animal?—Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake- deadliest snake in north America (eek!) Apples or oranges?— If it’s a honeycrisp, apple for sure. But if you’re trying to trick me into eating a red delicious, I’ll take the orange. Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?—Hmmm. I think in my youth I got a baseball player’s autograph at Wrigley Field. What do you think happens when we die?— I believe the basic elements that make up the human body- oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, etc.- are absorbed back into the universe. Whether our present consciousness survives this experience intact, is transformed into something different, or ceases to exist entirely is beyond my ability to comprehend or imagine. I also admit the possibility that I could be completely wrong about this. Favorite action movie?— I know this is a stretch but I’m going to say Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 Favorite smell?—It’s a tie between Christmas trees and candy canes. Least favorite smell?—Extremely moldy food that’s been in the back of the fridge for months. Exercise: worth it?—Hell yes! Flat or sparkling?—Sparkling. Most used app on your phone?—message, podcast and weather. I’m pretty boring! You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life: what is it?— Does Bach B Minor Mass count? If so, I’ll pick that. What number am I thinking of?—21. Describe the rest of your life in 5 words?—Don’t waste a single day! Have you taken the Colbert Questionert? Pick one question and answer it in the comment section!
Reading and Eating
It has been quite a while since I’ve done one of these posts, mainly because I don’t have a lot to report, reading-wise. I read a very long (almost 1000 page) book, and then NaBloPoMo started and I’ve been spending waaay more time than usual reading blogs. But I do have two books to share! First of all, I finished this one: So, so good. I love this series so much, and this one was possibly my favorite. Robin goes undercover to investigate a cult, and it was fascinating, suspenseful, and just so well-written. It’s always hard to pick the next book after an experience like that, so I fell back on Louise Penny. I’m slowly making my way through her series. Now, I’m going to say something possibly controversial: I don’t love Louise Penny. I like her books, but I don’t love them. There’s something about her writing style that irritates me- I think it’s the constant use of fragmented sentences. I keep coming back to her because I know I’ll like the book well enough, and this one was good. It’s a solid mystery that takes place in Three Pines around Christmas, which is always fun. It had a nice, satisfying ending. I might get the next one in the series if they have it at my library BECAUSE I’M HAVING A LIBRARY CRISIS. They did something to their website and now it won’t recognize my card number/PIN, which means I can’t place any holds, ACK! I have to get over their ASAP to get this straightened out. Okay, eating! I may not have been reading as much but I’ve definitely been eating plenty. This first one does not look appetizing but it was delicious. It’s the Caramelized Onion- Butternut Roast with Chestnuts from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Veganomicon cookbook. It was so, so good- my only complaint would be, it tasted like a delicious Thanksgiving side dish, but with a main course effort level. The weird triangular thing on the plate was the most delicious focaccia from this recipe. This focaccia was AMAZING! It deserves a better picture: Next up, chili! I used this recipe that I heard about on The Girl Next Door Podcast. I subbed tempeh for the meat, and used vegetable broth. Here’s how the conversation went that day- Husband: “What’s for dinner?” Me: “Chili…” Husband: “Again? Didn’t we just have chili?” Me: “…and cornbread.” Husband: “Ooooh! Okay!” I’ve learned that I can get away with almost anything when cornbread is involved. This was our meal the night before Halloween, and when I texted a photo to my sister, she replied that to complete the look, our utensils should be made out of bones. Lastly, here’s an oldie but goodie. I can’t remember where I got this recipe from- it was either Suzanne or Birchwood Pie. I get a lot of dinner ideas from them! The recipe is for Szechuan sauce which I use for a stir fry. The reason this is a go-to is that my daughter actually likes it- so I fall back on it anytime I can’t think of anything else to make. What are you reading right now? Have you read either of these books? Do you have an easy go-to recipe? Header photo by Blaz Photo on Unsplash
National Days in November
Before we get any further into the month, let’s look ahead and see what “National” days are coming up- because there’s nothing worse than realizing you’ve just missed, say, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, RIGHT??? These are from this website, and as there are a lot of them, I’ll just list the highlights. November 5th- National Doughnut Day Oops! We missed it. (See how sad that is?) But there’s actually a second National Doughnut Day, which is the first Friday in June. Mark you calendars now! November 7th- International Merlot Day I think we can all get behind this one. November 12- National Pizza With the Works Except Anchovies Day Okay, this is getting way too specific. But I’ll eat pizza on this day! November 14th- National Spicy Guacamole Day Sign me up! November 15th- National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day Ha ha… I actually participated in this day last year! While I don’t enjoy cleaning out the fridge, it was nice to get it done before Thanksgiving. The problem is… right now, something smells really bad in our fridge. We keep pulling out different containers of moldy food, triumphantly saying “HERE’S the culprit!” but the smell lingers on. My husband thinks we should clean the whole thing out, but I keep telling him we have to wait until the 15th. Not sure we can make it. November 19th- World Toilet Day Ahem. According to the website: “Every year on November 19th, the world celebrates World Toilet Day. It’s not a day to use bathroom humor and is no laughing matter. The goal of this day is to tackle the global sanitation crisis and draw attention to those without sanitation.” Okay. It sounds like an important issue, but I’m going to say if they want people to take it seriously, they should change the name. Also, I’m not really sure exactly how I’m supposed to observe this day. I’ll have to think about this. November 21st- National Gingerbread Cookie Day I have mixed feelings about this. I don’t think gingerbread cookies are appropriate until AFTER Thanksgiving. This one is ill-timed. But I do like gingerbread cookies. Day Before Thanksgiving- National Tie One On Day I got excited about this one until I read the description; “The day celebrates the apron as well as the past generations of women who wore them and it was also created as a day to bring joy to the life of someone in need and celebrate the spirit of giving.” Oh… darn. November 26th- National Cake Day I don’t know… isn’t everyone still eating pie at this point? November 30th- Stay Home Because You’re Well Day I’m not sure this one was well-thought out. I mean, it’s a nice idea but what if everyone did this? This year November 30th falls on the Thursday after Thanksgiving- didn’t we all just stay home a week ago? How about this: I propose that anyone who DIDN’T get to stay home on Thanksgiving should stay home on November 30th. That seems fair! This list just scratches the surface! Check out the website if you want the full list. Sorry to any readers outside the U.S. But Merlot and Toilet Days are international! We can all enjoy those. Do you have any days to add to this list? Header photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash