fundamentals !

Brilliant Asian Kale Slaw

Brilliant Asian Kale Slaw

Salads

 

The Greens:
2 bunches kale 
1 pkg. shredded cabbage mix

The Dressing:
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have)
2 Tablespoons Sesame oil  (I used roasted because that is what I had)
1/4 cup brown sugar (I know, you can brush your teeth later)
1 Tablespoon (heaping) minced garlic
2 Tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
1 Tablespoon of water (if desired)

Instructions: 

The Greens:

Wash, dry and chop the kale into bite-size pieces and place in a large salad bowl.  Add cabbage mix and incorporate with kale.  Set aside.

The Dressing: Combine vinegar, oil, brown sugar, garlic, Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce and Housin Sauce in a sauté pan.  Simmer the mixture over moderate heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour the warm mixture over the kale slaw; mix well to thoroughly coat all of the leaves with the dressing. Allow the kale slaw to sit for 10 minutes or more before serving.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Survey Says:  My family licked the bowl clean. There isn't many kale dishes that my family has this reaction to.  This is definitely a family favorite.  It is great to pack for lunches the next day...IF there are any leftovers.

up for a challenge ?

"The search for love 
is but the honest searching out 
of everything that interferes with love."

when we pray for-
or ask for-
love, 
patience, 
courage, 
forgiveness, 
strength, 
humility, 
peace, 
cheerfulness, 
gentleness,
mindfulness, 
self control, 
or any other thing...

we do not get it!

what we DO get 
is the opportunity 
to call up that which is already resting in us,
that which was gifted to us at birth,
that which we have access to any time we really want it!

so if we ask for help in any form,
we do not get tapped with a magic wand 
or touched on the shoulder with a sword by a queen
and honored with-
or bequeathed 
that for which we ask...
God does not say, "NO PROBLEM, HERE YOU GO!"

we get an opportunity in the form of "a situation"...

a situation that seems to challenge 
what we asked for!

and we get that "situation" in order that we may step up to the plate,
call on that character trait we most desire to exhibit,
and be an active participant in experiencing our request.

those more bold, 
do not just ask and wait for the opportunity.

those more bold seek out those situations, people, and opportunities
that challenge us!  
those situations, people and opportunities that challenge our capacity for love,
for patience,
for strength, 
for forgiveness, 
for cheerfulness, 
for mindfulness,
for peace.
they actually seek out that which would interfere with all these things!
they are not content to keep company only with those who make it all easy.
they are not content to only "stay put" in situations that are comfortable.
they are not content to miss opportunities to grow and to change,

they are willing to accept all the unknowns, and freefall into all those unknowns in an effort to tap into all that they are and all that is already in them!

are you up for a challenge?

the mirror of life

 -If you love yourself, others will love you.

- If you respect yourself, others will respect you.

- If you trust yourself, others will trust you.

- If you are honest with yourself, others will be honest with you.

- If you appreciate yourself, others will appreciate you.

- If you honor yourself, others will honor you.

- If you enjoy yourself, others will enjoy you.

borrowed from allisawesome.com

Workouts

Well, I must confess.  I used to be the one at the gym with my clipboard writing down sets, weights, and reps.  Anal City!  There was a great satisfaction I felt when I went up in weight.  I counted my protein grams and calculated my time on the cardio machines.  Don't roll your eyes!  Okay go ahead!  I have come a long way.  I am learning to tone down the anal tendencies and open myself up to mixing it up.  I no longer count protein grams or time on the cardio machines. FREEDOM REIGNS!  

So here is a typical week for me.:
 I try to hit each body part once a week with intense weights.  I mix up the exercises each week so my muscles don't have time to acclimate.  If I am not able to make it to the gym each day I double up the next time I'm in, (legs and shoulders).  I try to get in around 30 minutes of cardio about 4-5 times a week.  Just long enough to work up a sweat and truth be told catch up on a few TV shows (we don't have TV at home...built in incentive).  The last few weeks, if I can't make it into the gym, I do what my friends call Burst Training.  It is a fun quick workout that has left me glowing with sweat and sore the next day.  I  love to feel the burn!  I know!  You set a timer for 20 - 40 sec. and you do an easy exercise like crunches for 30 sec. as fast as you can while still maintaining good form.  You then take 30 sec. off to rest.  You do each exercise 3 times.  So I might do:  

1.  Jumping jacks
2.  Mountain climbers
3.  Squats
4.  Bicep curls
5.  Tricep extensions
6.  Overhead press
7.  Crunches
8.  Plank
9.  Push ups
10.  Burpees

My kiddos did the burst training with me last night and we put on some kick butt music and had a blast!  Every once in a while I try to go to hot yoga as a special treat and to mix things up a bit.  Exercise is "my time."  I listen to "my music."  I watch "my TV shows."  I chose what feels good to me. 

 I do miss classes.  The gym I am a member of doesn't have group classes and I really miss this component.  But for this season, I embrace the flexibility of whatever I want to do, when and how I want to do it.  Classes will always be there for another season.  Grateful for the ability to just work out. Now go out there and glow people!

I love me some HUMMUS!

I laughed so loud when my daughter showed me this comic.   For those who can't read the small print, the 3 big dinosaurs say, "Oh great who invited the herbivore?" Then, the other dinosaur says, "I brought the hummus."  I have a fetish for hummus lately.  My favorite lunch is mini peppers stuffed with hummus.  It gives a crunch and a sweet burst with a salty zing from the hummus.  It is filling and yummy.  For those days when I am needing energy to keep up with the preschoolers at work this lunch comes through every time.  Try it you may just fall in love with it.  

Me

Life seems to race by at quantum speed.  As I age, I recognize the beauty of taking in the scenery and enjoying the journey.  This new year, I am on a quest to detox myself emotionally and rid the "excess" garbage (for lack of a better word) that invades my space, my thoughts, and my perceptions.  It has been an uncomfortable stage but a necessary one.  I have filled my life with so much activity and when I have recently slowed the pace I realized then I must contend with myself.  As I examine and meditate, I see the areas I have covered with entertainment or hobbies.  This sounds really crazy but it is real and honest and where I am at...I do not know if I ever took the time to truly like me.  I have criticized others because in essence I am criticizing the person I see in the mirror.  This is not an I hate myself entry but a realization that I am the only me there is.  I have looked to others for approval without taking the time to check in with myself.  This only bred insecurity and fears which in turn well it has led to crap!  Literally!  I am God's creation, chosen and dearly loved.  I know this logically and I am ready to take back what I have allowed to be polluted.  This is not an overnight ah ha moment but one that takes a process of prayer and discipline in my thinking.  I am taking the time to wrestle with myself (my perceptions and self talk) and wow the clarity that comes after I do this.  God is showing me the beauty that is and can be.  It is easy for me to cram in stuff, activities, conversations.  It is a challenge for me to BE! I have cleared the deck and decided to go on this quest to learn about me, the one and only!  

God left you a note