Linked | {in the} Quiet {time}

This afternoon I stepped away from my computer and work to take a break and make some lunch.

I remembered the brussel sprouts waiting for me in the fridge, so I turned on the oven and pulled out a cutting board to prepare them for roasting.

That’s when I became inspired to photograph them.

As I took in the kitchen preparing and photographing those little green brussel sprouts, I realized something –

It was quiet. I mean REALLY quiet.

I had been so busy creating that I wasn’t even cognizant of it at first.  But it struck me as I stood in the warm sunlight of the kitchen; my home was empty and quiet. I breathed in the contentment of that moment. 

Sometimes I forget just how powerful and healing the quiet can be. When there is no TV, no music, no family members talking and most of all – no noise in my head of what needs to get done, where I should be, what is next, who needs to be where. Just   QUIET.

I prepared the brussel sprouts for the oven by marinating them in a couple table spoons of olive oil, some Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. 

They roast in the over at 400 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes.  It’s ironic, I've gone from swearing I would never eat brussel sprouts – ever again, to loving the smell of them roasting in the oven. 

They end up dark and crunchy outside, flavored by the salt and pepper and soft on the inside with a more mild taste when roasted long enough.

Within the hour I was back to work, the noise in my head turned  back up  to full, albeit I longed for more of those yummy little balls of crunchy green. I’m telling you, it’s a serious new love affair! I actually make a conscious choice to BUY brussel sprouts!

Brussel Sprouts?
Seriously, I’m not in my right mind.
But I just want MORE!

 

 

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“Great. Now I have guilt!”

I love Toy Story, don’t you? And Rex is the best… well, I love all the main characters. Although Harrison gave his Mr. Potato Head away because he said Mr. Potato Head has bad behavior and isn’t always nice.
As usual, I digress.
Back to my guilt.
Last week I started Harrison’s valentines for his class. I planned to get Trader Joe’s Organic Lollipops, but I was rushing and happened to be at Target where I spotted some heart-shaped lollipops on the cheap.
On the cheap.
Translation: filled with high fructose corn syrups and, more so, several artificial colors and preservatives that I can’t announce and would never endorse.  Plus there was my internal voice saying “WHAT?!!!”, that I was ignoring with a figurative hands-over-the-ears-saying “la-la-la-la… I can’t hear you!!” motion. (I learned that from a college boyfriend who did that to me once – literally. [WHAT?!] But that’s another story.)
Anyway, I bought them and moved on.

Then, earlier this week, I was reminded about the evils of food dyes when I posted an article about the subject on my Facebook wall. That’s when I felt it, I looked at that pile of valentine cards with a shoulder-slumping sigh of defeat. That was not what I planned, heart-shaped or not, I can’t in good conscious give a candy to another child that I wouldn’t give to my own. (Even though I let Harrison try one – DOH! Maybe that’s why he was hyper the other night.)
Food coloring dye. Maybe you have heard of Red #40 and are familiar with the studies on the effect of [petroleum based] food dyes on children’s behavior, especially children with ADHD. I first heard about the effects of red#40 from a friend while at Disneyland in 2008, she asked me, “Do you notice a difference in Harrison’s behavior when he consumes food with red#40?” “No”, I answered. She responded by telling methat it’s in everything including Kraft Mac and Cheese. I thought for a moment and realized I hadn’t bought Kraft Mac&Cheese for some time. I went home that night and looked through my cabinets and I discovered I no longer buy most name brand packaged foods.  […reason why I suck at collecting those silly Box Tops.]
Fast forward to today and the ongoing war against food dye, while the FDA has recently concluded that there is not enough evidence to link food dye with hyperactivity and voted not to add warning labels to ingredients, others beg to differ including the CSPI.  Even the UK removed artificial dyes from the food beginning as early as 2008.
Consider this from the CSPI:

On my Facebook page alone, a friend brought up that her son is allergic to all synthetic food dyes, which is in EVERYTHING from our food (including fresh fruit) to our clothing. I’ve heard stories from friends about the change in behavior they observed when they cut out the artificial colors and preservatives from their child’s diet.  But my other concern is that most of these dyes are more carcinogenic than once thought to be.  Why do we continue to fill our bodies with petroleum based preservatives? It doesn’t even sound appealing! 
And I’m not even going to start on High Fructose Corn Syrup, that’s another entire can of worms.
But think about this – HFCS and food coloring started to be used in mass in the 1970’s, less than two decades we began to see a shift in the health and weight of our children and now we are in an obesity epidemic.
Just to keep it real, I am not perfect and I’m not a food Nazi either. We do consume HTCS and food colors when were out and about it can’t always be avoided, but I don’t buy products with those ingredients. It’s one of my baby steps to better eating along with better planning and fresh ingredients.
So when Harrison takes his completed Valentines cards with a little treat attached to school next week, I will  have no guilt. 
Next to a home baked goodie, it’s a treat that a mom can be proud of giving.
Okay, I’m pushing now.

But even a 1st Grader can pronounce every ingredient on this lollipop label.

One Month Down

EDITED TO INCLUDE: My 'Linked' post will be over here this afternoon.


I got through a picture a day for January – Phew!!
Made it by the skin of my teeth, I need to find my groove (and inspiration for the creatively blank days). It’s hard to believe that it’s February already. Boy, did January fly by, I still feel behind the eight ball – heck I think there’s a big comfortable seat with my name embroidered on it behind that eight ball.

I don’t plan on getting comfortable…

Maybe that’s why I decided to torture myself attempt the 365 Project again this year.

I’m looking forward to traveling life’s road this year.
One picture at a time.

Up in the Air {or how I spent time waiting}

If you’ve flown anywhere in the last 10 years since 9-11, chances are you have had to wait at least once. Whether in the plane on the tarmac or in the terminal for a late or cancelled flight, or you just have a big layover,  you’ve waited.

I ended up on planes and in airports four times in 2010. That was a new record for me. I’m not a good flyer, so a career that included a lot of travel was never “in my future”. 

Now with all that flying, I also did my fair share of waiting and what better to burn up time in an airport terminal then wait?
Watch!

I’ve always been a people-watcher and I love just sitting and watching people coming and going in a large airport (probably because I ‘m often too jet-lagged and anxious to concentrate on reading something).

So on one of those trips I pulled out my camera and played.

Let me tell you something; if you want to stay inconspicuous while sitting in an airport for three hours, don’t sit right in front of the people-movers with a camera at your face. You will get a lot of stares.

But still, I just sat and played with a REALLY low shutter speed and my aperture stopped down– not looking for sharp, clear images of people frozen in time. I wanted to capture  the blur and distortion of constant movement that takes place in a busy airport - every. single. day.

Yes, I ended up with a kah-zillion images as I changed settings on my camera to account for the back light and movement and experiment...
But, boy did that layover fly by! (no pun intended)

And just like that, I was back up in the air.

linked | breakfast

When I think of breakfast I think, “The Most Important Meal of the Day”. I’ve spent most of my life eating cereal – hot and cold.  The older I get the less of a morning person I become.  The more tired I am, the less chance  I have at making a good bowl of hot oatmeal until I’ve had my first cup of coffee and awoken a bit more.  Heck,  just the other morning, in my tired state, I poured orange juice over Harrison’s cereal.

Now if I’m starving when I first wake up I can always manage a bowl of cold cereal (as long as there is no orange juice near by).  But I love breakfast and I always eat more later… when my body is awake.

Some mornings when I’m really lucky, the G.I.D. will make us eggs (once he’s first-cup-of-coffee awake). Let me tell you, he makes Awesome eggs.

Still, I tend to romantically wish every morning started out relaxed and tranquil, sitting at the table bathed in soft sunlight, drinking tea and eating homemade toast with fresh strawberry jam.  Then I realize where that sweet dream comes from. Mornings at my grandparent’s house during childhood. Precious memories that I want to recreate with my own child.

And for a long time I really tried to make Harrison well-round breakfasts. Then Grade School happened.  The rush to get ready, to get him breakfast, dressed, shoes on, teeth and hair brushed, lunch made and out the door for school.   He eats his fair share of cereal.

After all that, I quickly grab my coffee mug (which has been lovingly filled by the Guy-I-Dig with coffee he set to brew that night before). The one I use EVERY day, day-in, day-out.  It’s not a cool photographic retro mug or a colorful, fun mug that doubles as a food photography model.

Oh no…
it’s an old travel mug that I am literally lost without. I mean go-through-withdraws lost without. Like OCD lost without.

Lovely, isn’t it.

Luckily, we have a backup copy.

Oh wait, I LOST that one.

 

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“They had me at Fresh” Part II

I finally came clean about my passive relationship with the kitchen and how that all changed back in September. 

Looking back, here’s a few things I discovered after only one month of pre-planned meals:

• I REALLY am a messy cook .
• My fridge is  chuck-full of fresh, unspoiled vegetables, herbs and fruits for the first time in… EVER.
• Electric burners really do have more than two settings {HIGH and LOW}.
  Who knew cooking over MEDIUM  heat would do wonders in saving my food AND pans.
• I can make food fly.
• I can still burn a decent sauce even over medium heat .
• I can MAKE a decent sauce.
• That REALLY BIG knife in the block {that I rarely used} is NOT just for psychopaths in horror flicks – it’s FREAKIN’ AWESOME!
• I ♥ kitchen gadgets
• Fennel!
• For the first time in my life, I have made dressings, lasagna, chicken dumpling soup, beef stew and alfredo sauce - from scratch.
• COOKING FROM SCRATCH – GET OUT!
• I still don’t like brussel sprouts, period.
• On any given evening my kitchen is an even balance of Ratatouille
  

  tasting fireworks
• and Julie & Julie
  
• I want NEED more BIG, sharp knives! Bwahaha!!
• How have I lived without a salad spinner this long? 
• Apparently three sets of measuring spoons are not enough for me. 
• blanching – who knew?! I love fresh meat and fish wrapped in brown paper
  
• I have  never chopped so many onions in all my life.
• I make soup from scratch!
• Okay, maybe I like brussel sprouts – a little bit –  roasted in the oven with Sea Salt and Olive Oil.
  I know I like how they come on a stalk...
  
• And Above All – I REALLY need an apron before I ruin all my clothes!! (told ya I was messy)

 

Seriously though, we are eating better, fresher less processed foods and Harrison tries everything put in front of him.

That’s what really counts in the end.

Just Create

In recent months picking up a pen, a paintbrush or even my camera for leisure seemed farthest from my mind with all the other “noise” going on in my pointy little head.  I wasn’t feeling inspired or creative so how could I possibly BE creative.

However, as with anything in life. Sometimes you just have to do it.
Step out.
Jump in.

That’s just what I did one day last week when I made a stop at the pier as the sun began to settle low in the sky. 
Pictures for only me. The way I wanted them. No rushing, no posing, no cares but my own.

Although I let Harrison pick out the image for my 365 Project…

I decided that one way to open my creative floodgates after a dry year, is to once again resurrect the 365 Project for myself. The last time I tried it, I only got about 104 pictures taken in 129 days. Not so successful.

People have asked me why I’m taking on 365 again.
It’s three fold really.

• To challenge myself daily. (pushing myself to SEE outside the box more often)
• To chronicle our lives (I love looking back at over the blog and remembering events and days and our home)
• To Create (by my own rules).

Feel free to follow my my 365 roll here.