Hey You Grumpy-Face!
To you people at the store, the bank, on the road or wherever who feel they are better then me, or don't have to be polite. We are ALL people and we are all trying to get our shopping done, get home to our families or go on with our day to day lives, wouldn't it be better if we were all just a bit more nice to each other?
I can't tell you how often when I am at the store, bank, driving down the road, I smile at someone, or make a polite comment, and they either ignore me, or give me a dirty look. REALLY PEOPLE? I am just trying to be friendly, be one less grumpy face in the crowd, and what do I get for my effort, negativity?! Why, please explain it to me!
I get it, you are busy, you don't want to be where you are, your husband is cheating on you or whatever, and my happiness annoys you or something, but even still, isn't a little positive energy always good regardless of how irritated you are? Isn't it nicer to have at least ONE person smile at you when you are angry, sad or just plain tired?
I am calling for EVERYONE to make an effort to be polite, friendly and appreciative of small gestures strangers may make, take the higher road and just embrace the happiness and forget about your miserable selves for 2 seconds, you might find that the happiness is contagious and before you know it, we are all smiling, making funny comments while waiting in line, or taking turns properly at the intersection.
Please I am begging you! In our world today full of so much sadness, injustice, and anger, please just try and be polite to your fellow humans in public, it's for all our own good, really!
That is all,
Kela
Friday, February 3, 2012
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Parent Fun
Hey Everyone,
So my daughter is 9 months now, and just on the verge of walking/talking and wanting to borrow my car keys. Being a stay at home mom might make for a tight bond between the two of us, but it's not really conducive for either of us to get out and socialize. The problem is that most parents I meet are just weird, or have too busy of schedules. It's a rarity in the US these days to find many stay at home moms, so that in itself makes socializing fairly hard.
The weird factor comes in with the fact that each parent has their own philosophy on parenting. I'm all for having your own way of doing things, but for some reason most (not all) parents feel that their way is the best and try and push that onto you. I'm a pretty laid back mom, and while I do want to challenge my girl, and get her brain working, I also want her to have fun and enjoy our time together.
Take this moment, my mom, daughter and I have been walking at a local park most mornings (trying to loose the baby weight - what can I say - food is my friend and enemy) and there was this mom and young girl (just a little older then mine) in the play area... so we stopped to chat and let my girl watch her play (she was walking, and climbing and whatnot) the mom quickly began to get her daughter to show off all the words she knew, almost like how you'd get your dog to do all her best tricks while in a show, it was cute but sort of awkward and the mom seemed very uptight. Then she asked me "Are you teaching your daughter sign language?" to which I replied, "Not a lot, but some key words" and she looked horrified "You really SHOULD teach her all that you can, it will really improve their vocabulary early on." She went on for a while about the benefits and what methods she used, and I nodded, and smiled and then of course we moved on everyone slightly uncomfortable. I know the success with baby sign, and I do teach my girl some of the key words, but she's 9 months old, and honestly thinks that "Mama" means food at this point, no matter how many times I tell her it's food, and how many time she says MAMA I respond... her little brain just doesn't quite get it yet... but it's working... and sometimes too much information isn't helpful either... plus - life's too short to drill my baby every minute of the day, I know she'll figure it out.
Why is it that people feel the need to tell you how to raise your children?
An even better question - Why do people feel the need to come up and touch your children???
I swear every single time I am out in public at least 2-3 people will come up and talk to us, and my baby being the fun loving, sweet girl she is, reaches out and waves and smiles at them, so of course to weird strangers that means "Oh please touch my hand, and my cute little baby cheeks" which of course is so wrong and gross.
TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, IT IS NEVER OK TO TOUCH A STRANGERS BABY!
This goes especially to the cute old ladies of the world, because it's really hard to yell at them... "Ooooo I'm a grandmother of 6 grand-babies and I just think yours is the cutest thing in the whole world..." as she reaches out her withered old lady hand and touches my daughter - my brain flashes to "God I wonder what she's touched, wonder if she's sick, when was the last time she washed her hands...ew ew ew... " but how do you tell a great grandmother to please not touch your baby!?
I guess there are some sites where you can meet similar mom's and set up play dates, but the whole thing seems like a crap-shoot and weird, like internet dating, I know people who swear it works but I'm still skeptical. Something will have to give, or my other friends with babies and I will really need to get focused on dates... or my girl can just be a mama's girl (aka hermit) until I send her off to school (and she'll have total culture shock)! LOL.
Ok fine... I'll set up some play dates... but you are gonna hear about the shenanigans that ensues!
Hope you enjoyed my ramblings!
Thanks For Listening,
Kela
So my daughter is 9 months now, and just on the verge of walking/talking and wanting to borrow my car keys. Being a stay at home mom might make for a tight bond between the two of us, but it's not really conducive for either of us to get out and socialize. The problem is that most parents I meet are just weird, or have too busy of schedules. It's a rarity in the US these days to find many stay at home moms, so that in itself makes socializing fairly hard.
The weird factor comes in with the fact that each parent has their own philosophy on parenting. I'm all for having your own way of doing things, but for some reason most (not all) parents feel that their way is the best and try and push that onto you. I'm a pretty laid back mom, and while I do want to challenge my girl, and get her brain working, I also want her to have fun and enjoy our time together.
Take this moment, my mom, daughter and I have been walking at a local park most mornings (trying to loose the baby weight - what can I say - food is my friend and enemy) and there was this mom and young girl (just a little older then mine) in the play area... so we stopped to chat and let my girl watch her play (she was walking, and climbing and whatnot) the mom quickly began to get her daughter to show off all the words she knew, almost like how you'd get your dog to do all her best tricks while in a show, it was cute but sort of awkward and the mom seemed very uptight. Then she asked me "Are you teaching your daughter sign language?" to which I replied, "Not a lot, but some key words" and she looked horrified "You really SHOULD teach her all that you can, it will really improve their vocabulary early on." She went on for a while about the benefits and what methods she used, and I nodded, and smiled and then of course we moved on everyone slightly uncomfortable. I know the success with baby sign, and I do teach my girl some of the key words, but she's 9 months old, and honestly thinks that "Mama" means food at this point, no matter how many times I tell her it's food, and how many time she says MAMA I respond... her little brain just doesn't quite get it yet... but it's working... and sometimes too much information isn't helpful either... plus - life's too short to drill my baby every minute of the day, I know she'll figure it out.
Why is it that people feel the need to tell you how to raise your children?
An even better question - Why do people feel the need to come up and touch your children???
I swear every single time I am out in public at least 2-3 people will come up and talk to us, and my baby being the fun loving, sweet girl she is, reaches out and waves and smiles at them, so of course to weird strangers that means "Oh please touch my hand, and my cute little baby cheeks" which of course is so wrong and gross.
TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, IT IS NEVER OK TO TOUCH A STRANGERS BABY!
This goes especially to the cute old ladies of the world, because it's really hard to yell at them... "Ooooo I'm a grandmother of 6 grand-babies and I just think yours is the cutest thing in the whole world..." as she reaches out her withered old lady hand and touches my daughter - my brain flashes to "God I wonder what she's touched, wonder if she's sick, when was the last time she washed her hands...ew ew ew... " but how do you tell a great grandmother to please not touch your baby!?
I guess there are some sites where you can meet similar mom's and set up play dates, but the whole thing seems like a crap-shoot and weird, like internet dating, I know people who swear it works but I'm still skeptical. Something will have to give, or my other friends with babies and I will really need to get focused on dates... or my girl can just be a mama's girl (aka hermit) until I send her off to school (and she'll have total culture shock)! LOL.
Ok fine... I'll set up some play dates... but you are gonna hear about the shenanigans that ensues!
Hope you enjoyed my ramblings!
Thanks For Listening,
Kela
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Long Time No See
Hey Everyone,
So last time I wrote I was in my 2nd trimester of my pregnancy - now my darling daughter is 6-7 months. I write all the time for myself, but for some reason haven't made it onto my blog in a while. Not that I have a lot of followers but - still it's nice to get out there and write now and again.
Not doing a lot outside mommy-dom right now, but to my surprise I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I was never sure I wanted to have kids, thought they were weird and that I'd never relate to them. Living so much in my head most of my life, how could I be a good mom. As it turns out, she's making me one. Each and every day I feel myself letting go more and more of my over analytical side, and just enjoying rolling with the baby chaos! I am fortunate in that I get to stay home with her each and every day - although that does come with a unfortunate side effect - I'm poor. However in this job market - it's not like there are jobs anyway, so I might as well enjoy it.
Pretty cool actually because my husband and I used to always live paycheck to paycheck... when we were both working... and now we are still living pretty much PC to PC but it's just his income... so in our 10 years together we've actually learned a thing or two about living frugally, without only eating top romen and spaghetti. I make a ton of great foods, and our baby girl gets all she needs. I know this set-up will not last forever, but it's working ok for now... and that's comforting.
My family has been so supportive and great, although I'm finding myself wanting to pull away from them a bit - just to prove that I can be a great mom without a ton of help. I like being able to do everything myself. Find myself carrying baby, groceries and still wanting to open doors for strangers - of course they think I'm a totally whack-job - but whatever. :) It's just empowering to accomplish many things in a day without assistance.
I am hoping someday I'll find a job or some way to make some money where I can work from home, or continue to do what I love... something in the world of writing, crafting, cooking or furniture repair/refinishing would be great. Probably about as likely as winning the lottery - but hey I can dream!
I'll try and post again much sooner,
Just wanted to touch base real quick - but there is work to be done!
Thanks for Listening,
Kela
So last time I wrote I was in my 2nd trimester of my pregnancy - now my darling daughter is 6-7 months. I write all the time for myself, but for some reason haven't made it onto my blog in a while. Not that I have a lot of followers but - still it's nice to get out there and write now and again.
Not doing a lot outside mommy-dom right now, but to my surprise I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I was never sure I wanted to have kids, thought they were weird and that I'd never relate to them. Living so much in my head most of my life, how could I be a good mom. As it turns out, she's making me one. Each and every day I feel myself letting go more and more of my over analytical side, and just enjoying rolling with the baby chaos! I am fortunate in that I get to stay home with her each and every day - although that does come with a unfortunate side effect - I'm poor. However in this job market - it's not like there are jobs anyway, so I might as well enjoy it.
Pretty cool actually because my husband and I used to always live paycheck to paycheck... when we were both working... and now we are still living pretty much PC to PC but it's just his income... so in our 10 years together we've actually learned a thing or two about living frugally, without only eating top romen and spaghetti. I make a ton of great foods, and our baby girl gets all she needs. I know this set-up will not last forever, but it's working ok for now... and that's comforting.
My family has been so supportive and great, although I'm finding myself wanting to pull away from them a bit - just to prove that I can be a great mom without a ton of help. I like being able to do everything myself. Find myself carrying baby, groceries and still wanting to open doors for strangers - of course they think I'm a totally whack-job - but whatever. :) It's just empowering to accomplish many things in a day without assistance.
I am hoping someday I'll find a job or some way to make some money where I can work from home, or continue to do what I love... something in the world of writing, crafting, cooking or furniture repair/refinishing would be great. Probably about as likely as winning the lottery - but hey I can dream!
I'll try and post again much sooner,
Just wanted to touch base real quick - but there is work to be done!
Thanks for Listening,
Kela
Friday, April 30, 2010
2nd Trimester - Feeling Great!
Hey Everyone,
Sorry its been so long since I've blogged, but I've been in pregnancy land trying to focus on that. I realized today that I've been making a lot of changes that are super awesome and healthy for me and my growin' baby so I thought I'd do a little blog to catch y'all up!
For a while I was just so sick all the time that I had to find simple, easy to make foods for myself that didn't make me want to run to the bathroom... but lately since I've been feeling so much better, I've found a lot of better foods to eat and am having to keep myself from over eating cause I am just loving everything. I am normally a 3 big meals a day kind of gal... but after re-reading all the pregnancy stuff - they drill it in your head to graze throughout the day... so I've really been trying to eat smaller meals, more often and make sure they are packed with goodies. A lot of veggies, fruit, wheat, and low fat whatever else I can find... and I'm feeling really good! I do splurge on occasion but I think as long as you are trying to make healthy choices throughout the day, a little treat now and then is just fine!
Also I've really picked up my workouts... in fact I think I'm working out more then I ever did before I got pregnant. Here's a good example of what I'm talking about. Because I always do my yoga on my wii fit - there is a very straight forward way to look at how often I am working out. Usually its very sparse, but lately its been a great deal better. For example in December 2009 (so before I was pregnant) I worked out 2 TIMES all month! January 2010 (very very beginning of my pregnancy) only worked out 1 TIME all month! (eek - first month was rough!)
February 2010 - started feeling a tiny bit better so I worked out 5 times all month! Twice in one week on 2 separate occasions! March 2010 I tried to do a little bit better and I reached 7 times that month! (again managing to work out 2 times a week). Now for April! I managed to work out 11 times this month and averaged 3-4 times a week!!! YAY FOR ME! :D I think I could have done better but I did take a whole week off when I had that cold in the early part of the month. Even still I'm quite proud of this improvement.
Not only am I working out more often, but I've stepped up the workouts. In the beginning I was just doing my Wii Fit yoga (15 min)... and then about a month ago I started with the "Summer Sanders Prenatal Workout" DVD I got... starting with the express workout (along with the yoga) which is another 9 minutes... getting my grand total of minutes to 24 minutes. Then this week I started doing the full length workout on the DVD and twice this week I did a total of 50 minutes! Feeling great! If any pregnant women stumble across this blog - I HIGHLY recommend the Summer Sanders DVD. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VC995S/ref=ox_ya_os_product
Also starting designing the baby quilt for our baby - which btw the Doctors believe is a girl. My life is pretty simple right now - just trying to eat well, drink lots of water and take care of myself. Just for fun - here is a pic of the baby!
Thanks for reading! LOVE YOU ALL!
-Kela
Sorry its been so long since I've blogged, but I've been in pregnancy land trying to focus on that. I realized today that I've been making a lot of changes that are super awesome and healthy for me and my growin' baby so I thought I'd do a little blog to catch y'all up!
For a while I was just so sick all the time that I had to find simple, easy to make foods for myself that didn't make me want to run to the bathroom... but lately since I've been feeling so much better, I've found a lot of better foods to eat and am having to keep myself from over eating cause I am just loving everything. I am normally a 3 big meals a day kind of gal... but after re-reading all the pregnancy stuff - they drill it in your head to graze throughout the day... so I've really been trying to eat smaller meals, more often and make sure they are packed with goodies. A lot of veggies, fruit, wheat, and low fat whatever else I can find... and I'm feeling really good! I do splurge on occasion but I think as long as you are trying to make healthy choices throughout the day, a little treat now and then is just fine!
Also I've really picked up my workouts... in fact I think I'm working out more then I ever did before I got pregnant. Here's a good example of what I'm talking about. Because I always do my yoga on my wii fit - there is a very straight forward way to look at how often I am working out. Usually its very sparse, but lately its been a great deal better. For example in December 2009 (so before I was pregnant) I worked out 2 TIMES all month! January 2010 (very very beginning of my pregnancy) only worked out 1 TIME all month! (eek - first month was rough!)
February 2010 - started feeling a tiny bit better so I worked out 5 times all month! Twice in one week on 2 separate occasions! March 2010 I tried to do a little bit better and I reached 7 times that month! (again managing to work out 2 times a week). Now for April! I managed to work out 11 times this month and averaged 3-4 times a week!!! YAY FOR ME! :D I think I could have done better but I did take a whole week off when I had that cold in the early part of the month. Even still I'm quite proud of this improvement.
Not only am I working out more often, but I've stepped up the workouts. In the beginning I was just doing my Wii Fit yoga (15 min)... and then about a month ago I started with the "Summer Sanders Prenatal Workout" DVD I got... starting with the express workout (along with the yoga) which is another 9 minutes... getting my grand total of minutes to 24 minutes. Then this week I started doing the full length workout on the DVD and twice this week I did a total of 50 minutes! Feeling great! If any pregnant women stumble across this blog - I HIGHLY recommend the Summer Sanders DVD. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VC995S/ref=ox_ya_os_product
Also starting designing the baby quilt for our baby - which btw the Doctors believe is a girl. My life is pretty simple right now - just trying to eat well, drink lots of water and take care of myself. Just for fun - here is a pic of the baby!
Thanks for reading! LOVE YOU ALL!
-Kela
Thursday, February 18, 2010
I'm Pregnant ... therefore eating is my friend...
Hey Everyone,
As you all probably know by now - I am Pregnant (just about 9 weeks right now - due September 24th, 2010 - and for those of you keeping track, yes that is THE DAY after Ryan's and I's 3rd wedding anniversary! Couldn't have done that on purpose if we tried, although we are hoping it will come early so our anniversary can remain "our" day.)
With all that in mind, I've been really trying to eat healthy, small portions as I've been told is best. It gets hard since I'm sick to my tummy a lot and not feeling any energy to put into feeding myself, but I've made some valiant efforts and I thought you all might be slightly curious what I'm eating!
I started off eating pretty bland food, cause I was so sick to my stomach, here is the very un-elegant half of a Peanut Butter & Jelly and half a Banana. Not much to look at, but full of good things, whole wheat, protein, and fruit goodness! Sometimes I just can't handle even things this complicated so I'd go for a little:
Raisin bread and little Pineapple chunks in pineapple juice (No extra sugars, just good juice). Easy and still not too bad for me! As I started feeling better, or rather maybe the cause of feeling better - I started to branch out of the comfort bread and fruit routine and found that since I've gotten pregnant I suddenly like Cereal and Milk (2 things I never much cared for before... so I guess the rule is... don't be set in your ways... you never know what you might like... this should go for pregnant people and non-preggers alike!)
This is backed full of healthy goodness and sooo tasty - I used "Total" cereal, so it's got like practically all my prenatal vitamins in there! I love this breakfast, its easy, tasty and soo good for me and da-baby. :D
Then this morning I was craving something a bit more cozy so I went out on a limb and made this:
A nice 1/2 of an Everything bagel, 1/3 the fat cream cheese, a few little slices of tomato and a soft poached egg... with a nice side of super fresh crispy strawberries! OMG so indulgent yet not really that bad for me cause it has protein, dairy, veggies, grains, and fruit! Also made it for my step dad AL and he was totally into it. Next time I'm gonna add some steamed spinach... then it will be even better!
Dinner's are different every night mostly, sometimes we eat out cause I'm tired, but I've really tried to make an effort to make something. Sometimes its Turkey Tacos, or Turkey Spaghetti - both super crazy good if you haven't tried them. Sometimes its just a big salad. Last night I made this:
Some grilled herb chicken tenders, long grain wild rice and a nice little pile of fresh steamed spinach. This was a big hit as well, and really not hard to make. Also think of how good it is for you?
I eat other things of course too, but these are the items I thought would be accessible to most people and that I actually remembered to photograph.
I hope you enjoyed... and if any other pregnant mom's stumbled across this, I hope it gave you some ideas! Let me know if you have any questions or interested in any recipes (turkey goodness).
Thanks for reading!
xoxox,
Kela
As you all probably know by now - I am Pregnant (just about 9 weeks right now - due September 24th, 2010 - and for those of you keeping track, yes that is THE DAY after Ryan's and I's 3rd wedding anniversary! Couldn't have done that on purpose if we tried, although we are hoping it will come early so our anniversary can remain "our" day.)
With all that in mind, I've been really trying to eat healthy, small portions as I've been told is best. It gets hard since I'm sick to my tummy a lot and not feeling any energy to put into feeding myself, but I've made some valiant efforts and I thought you all might be slightly curious what I'm eating!
I started off eating pretty bland food, cause I was so sick to my stomach, here is the very un-elegant half of a Peanut Butter & Jelly and half a Banana. Not much to look at, but full of good things, whole wheat, protein, and fruit goodness! Sometimes I just can't handle even things this complicated so I'd go for a little:
Raisin bread and little Pineapple chunks in pineapple juice (No extra sugars, just good juice). Easy and still not too bad for me! As I started feeling better, or rather maybe the cause of feeling better - I started to branch out of the comfort bread and fruit routine and found that since I've gotten pregnant I suddenly like Cereal and Milk (2 things I never much cared for before... so I guess the rule is... don't be set in your ways... you never know what you might like... this should go for pregnant people and non-preggers alike!)
This is backed full of healthy goodness and sooo tasty - I used "Total" cereal, so it's got like practically all my prenatal vitamins in there! I love this breakfast, its easy, tasty and soo good for me and da-baby. :DThen this morning I was craving something a bit more cozy so I went out on a limb and made this:
A nice 1/2 of an Everything bagel, 1/3 the fat cream cheese, a few little slices of tomato and a soft poached egg... with a nice side of super fresh crispy strawberries! OMG so indulgent yet not really that bad for me cause it has protein, dairy, veggies, grains, and fruit! Also made it for my step dad AL and he was totally into it. Next time I'm gonna add some steamed spinach... then it will be even better!Dinner's are different every night mostly, sometimes we eat out cause I'm tired, but I've really tried to make an effort to make something. Sometimes its Turkey Tacos, or Turkey Spaghetti - both super crazy good if you haven't tried them. Sometimes its just a big salad. Last night I made this:
Some grilled herb chicken tenders, long grain wild rice and a nice little pile of fresh steamed spinach. This was a big hit as well, and really not hard to make. Also think of how good it is for you?I eat other things of course too, but these are the items I thought would be accessible to most people and that I actually remembered to photograph.
I hope you enjoyed... and if any other pregnant mom's stumbled across this, I hope it gave you some ideas! Let me know if you have any questions or interested in any recipes (turkey goodness).
Thanks for reading!
xoxox,
Kela
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Joys Of Life
In this crazy world we live in, sometimes its the little things we must focus on... to realize just how wonderful the world is. I realize that I tend to focus on the negative, deciding to let them run my life. However today is not that kind of day. I've been watching Julie and Julia (Finally) and am stunned I didn't think to do what was done in this story. I've taken the last year off to do whatever I fancy... to find myself if you will... much like these women in the story... I know lots of people would view this as selfish or lazy... and of course it is... but it is also the most liberating, joyful experience of my life. I think that life is far too short not to follow your heart and do what feels right, as long as it doesn't negatively affect your life of course.
A few days ago I wrote down a list of things to accomplish for 2010... something I do every year... "New Years Resolutions" if you please. Most of the bullet points were generic - loose weight *and keep it off this time, try to be more patient and caring. Then I found myself writing down something I was surprised about - "keep a journal again". When I was younger... I wrote so much... I could barely take my eyes off the page... I'd right upwards to 10 pages a day and it never seemed like enough. Then... about 8-9 years ago... it just STOPPED. I could say it was Ryan's fault... but that's not really true. The reason I stopped is that I suddenly didn't feel I had anything of worth to write about - BECAUSE I didn't have any teen angst anymore... the constant inner conflict to deal with. So the writing stopped. Funny thing is... just because things aren't horrible doesn't mean I shouldn't write about them... in fact... as I said in the first paragraph... why only focus on the negative. This hit me like a ton of bricks this morning - as I realized I still had YET to start writing my journal. So I grabbed my purse and headed over to "Boarders" to find my new writing friend. The very first one I found was this beautiful spiral bound notebook... with the numbers 2010 on the front... and inside... one page for every day of the year. What a perfect motivation for me to stay focused and just write. This way if I miss a day... I'm killing trees for no reason... so I must write - FOR THE TREES! :D They died for me to be able to keep a promise to myself... so for them... I vow to do it. I wrote my first page today... I just hope I keep it up.
I know what your thinking.... "Kela -- Your writing on your blog right now... what's the difference?" For those of you who have not written in a journal... on a daily basis... I will tell you. The journal is for you... to look back and reflect on what your thinking and doing. The blog is to entertain all the folks who read online... I have been in this crazy limbo... deciding what to do with myself for the past year... experiencing new challenges and pushing myself to be a stronger more focused person. Yet... I've pulled away from what made me - me.
Back to food - cause you know that we all love to talk food. I picked up some of my favorite cheeses yesterday... and today... as my mom and I watched Julie and Julia we broke them out. From Raley's in Petaluma ... the ever elusive but highly sought after "Tuscan Pesto Brie" and the "Kerrygold - Reserve Cheddar (aged over 2 years - and imported from Ireland) - and as usual ... nothing can compare... it is really just THAT good. As amazing as the Reserve Cheddar is... if you have yet to try the Pesto brie... go... go get it now! You will not be disappointed. When I first found this cheese... not only did I not like Pesto ... but I wasn't huge on brie either. I know I'm Satan spawn or something, but its the truth... now... I just see its magic that much clearer. Also... I have noticed that my taste for food is ever evolving... things I never liked before suddenly are delicious and my tastebuds are yelling at me for not enjoying them earlier.
So with that said - I leave you with this. Life is too short to waste it on being good all the time. Indulge... enjoy... and savor life!
Thanks for listening,
Kela
A few days ago I wrote down a list of things to accomplish for 2010... something I do every year... "New Years Resolutions" if you please. Most of the bullet points were generic - loose weight *and keep it off this time, try to be more patient and caring. Then I found myself writing down something I was surprised about - "keep a journal again". When I was younger... I wrote so much... I could barely take my eyes off the page... I'd right upwards to 10 pages a day and it never seemed like enough. Then... about 8-9 years ago... it just STOPPED. I could say it was Ryan's fault... but that's not really true. The reason I stopped is that I suddenly didn't feel I had anything of worth to write about - BECAUSE I didn't have any teen angst anymore... the constant inner conflict to deal with. So the writing stopped. Funny thing is... just because things aren't horrible doesn't mean I shouldn't write about them... in fact... as I said in the first paragraph... why only focus on the negative. This hit me like a ton of bricks this morning - as I realized I still had YET to start writing my journal. So I grabbed my purse and headed over to "Boarders" to find my new writing friend. The very first one I found was this beautiful spiral bound notebook... with the numbers 2010 on the front... and inside... one page for every day of the year. What a perfect motivation for me to stay focused and just write. This way if I miss a day... I'm killing trees for no reason... so I must write - FOR THE TREES! :D They died for me to be able to keep a promise to myself... so for them... I vow to do it. I wrote my first page today... I just hope I keep it up.
I know what your thinking.... "Kela -- Your writing on your blog right now... what's the difference?" For those of you who have not written in a journal... on a daily basis... I will tell you. The journal is for you... to look back and reflect on what your thinking and doing. The blog is to entertain all the folks who read online... I have been in this crazy limbo... deciding what to do with myself for the past year... experiencing new challenges and pushing myself to be a stronger more focused person. Yet... I've pulled away from what made me - me.
Back to food - cause you know that we all love to talk food. I picked up some of my favorite cheeses yesterday... and today... as my mom and I watched Julie and Julia we broke them out. From Raley's in Petaluma ... the ever elusive but highly sought after "Tuscan Pesto Brie" and the "Kerrygold - Reserve Cheddar (aged over 2 years - and imported from Ireland) - and as usual ... nothing can compare... it is really just THAT good. As amazing as the Reserve Cheddar is... if you have yet to try the Pesto brie... go... go get it now! You will not be disappointed. When I first found this cheese... not only did I not like Pesto ... but I wasn't huge on brie either. I know I'm Satan spawn or something, but its the truth... now... I just see its magic that much clearer. Also... I have noticed that my taste for food is ever evolving... things I never liked before suddenly are delicious and my tastebuds are yelling at me for not enjoying them earlier.
So with that said - I leave you with this. Life is too short to waste it on being good all the time. Indulge... enjoy... and savor life!
Thanks for listening,
Kela
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
How I Make Pierogies
Hey All,
I decided to do this for Annie, but whomever gets benefit out of it... I'm happy to share my wisdom.
So growing up my mom encouraged us to try a huge variety of foods, as far back as I can remember I was eating, Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food and the list goes on and on... one of my very favorite foods is I guess Polish although various other cultures do very similar things so we can't give them all the credit and that is the Pierogie. What a pierogie is, is a dumping that is filled with various ingredients, most commonly potato... and usually onion and or cheese. More info can be found in Wikipedia.
I grew up on "Mrs. T's" brand pictured below, but I'm sure others are good, I have just haven't tried any yet.
The instructions tell you to EITHER boil them or fry them... my mom taught me how she did it, and after a few other attempts, I did find this to be the best way... and that is to do BOTH. First boil water, salt and oil just before dropping them in.
Then when they are al-dente put them into a med-hot pan with lots of butter (onion, pepper and whatever else sounds good can be added at this point... serving them with sausage is very popular as well.)
I like to put a tiny bit of butter (and pepper) on the top before I flip them just to really make sure you get a nice crispiness on the top too. Once they crispy up on the bottom... takes longer then you'd think but its well worth the wait, flip them over.
Once they are all crispy and happy, then plate.
Top with sour cream! You'll think you died and went to heaven. :)
They can be served with just about anything as I mentioned before, I decided to do Peas and Corn this time since its similar to mashed potatoes (and its something I had just laying around the house), I thought it would go good together, as it turned out, it totally did! :)
I hope you enjoyed my little picture/instruction on the ever elusive pierogie... maybe I inspired you to try something new and maybe just a bit sinful. ;)
ENJOY!
P.s There is a "fat free" sour cream made by "Naturally Yours" that is amazing... I'd say its the best tasting sour cream on the market I've had and FAT FREE... so you don't feel too bad giving a nice big dollop on each pierogie. :)
I decided to do this for Annie, but whomever gets benefit out of it... I'm happy to share my wisdom.
So growing up my mom encouraged us to try a huge variety of foods, as far back as I can remember I was eating, Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food and the list goes on and on... one of my very favorite foods is I guess Polish although various other cultures do very similar things so we can't give them all the credit and that is the Pierogie. What a pierogie is, is a dumping that is filled with various ingredients, most commonly potato... and usually onion and or cheese. More info can be found in Wikipedia.
I grew up on "Mrs. T's" brand pictured below, but I'm sure others are good, I have just haven't tried any yet.
The instructions tell you to EITHER boil them or fry them... my mom taught me how she did it, and after a few other attempts, I did find this to be the best way... and that is to do BOTH. First boil water, salt and oil just before dropping them in.
Then when they are al-dente put them into a med-hot pan with lots of butter (onion, pepper and whatever else sounds good can be added at this point... serving them with sausage is very popular as well.)
I like to put a tiny bit of butter (and pepper) on the top before I flip them just to really make sure you get a nice crispiness on the top too. Once they crispy up on the bottom... takes longer then you'd think but its well worth the wait, flip them over. 
Once they are all crispy and happy, then plate.
Top with sour cream! You'll think you died and went to heaven. :)They can be served with just about anything as I mentioned before, I decided to do Peas and Corn this time since its similar to mashed potatoes (and its something I had just laying around the house), I thought it would go good together, as it turned out, it totally did! :)
I hope you enjoyed my little picture/instruction on the ever elusive pierogie... maybe I inspired you to try something new and maybe just a bit sinful. ;)ENJOY!
P.s There is a "fat free" sour cream made by "Naturally Yours" that is amazing... I'd say its the best tasting sour cream on the market I've had and FAT FREE... so you don't feel too bad giving a nice big dollop on each pierogie. :)
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