There Once Was a Girl...

When I was a wee one my mother used to sing me a poem:

There Once Was a Girl

Who Had a Little Curl

Right in the Middle of her Forehead.

And When She Was Good,

She was Very, Very, Good.

And When She Was Bad,

She Was Horrid.

Now, before you envision that my Mom walked around calling her tossle headed tot horrid, please understand that this was a happy acknowledgement for both of us. It allowed me to find a light side to strong feelings and it allowed her to find a light side to a tantrum of epic proportions. Despite having lost my Mom years ago, I know this because my son is very similarly dispositioned. Easy going, flexible, and full of humor most of the time. And then, very rarely...indignation right down to the last spark of our soul.

This past week tested me right down to my last curl. And last Thursday there was a choice to be made. A fork in the road. One can give in and let frustration take over in wave after wave or one can choose another path...

And take a 6 mile walk around Lake Wingra and let wave after wave of gratitude wash over you as you realize how lucky it is to live in a city with three beautiful lakes.

There are funky, crumbling stair cases that lead to meadows and duck ponds.

The magnolia and lilac and fruit trees are all in bloom and the fragrance is amazing.

The Arboretum has these old markers everywhere and I just love the patina.

One of my favorite spots. My house is almost directly across the lake from this view. The cattails are full of red winged black birds which throw the most glorious fit clearly thinking that you are there to nab their prime nesting spot. 

With all this green you can feel tension melting away.

And visit some friends at the free zoo.

Or, if all else fails you can join the college kids who just finished finals. They are there, playing kickball...and...if you zoom in you will see they are all running with beer cups and there is a half barrel on home and second base. Ah, Wisconsin.

And then top off the evening with Bora Bora Fireballs. A new family favorite and another amazing recipe from Melissa at The Clothes Make the Girl. We had these with zucchini pancakes from the Moosewood cookbook. We used almond flour in place of the wheat flour. Yum. No picture of the pancakes. We ate them too quickly!

Plum Trees and Messages from the Universe

We have several fruit trees in our back yard and one of the best parts of Spring is when they bloom. The trees are all young. It is like the Charlie Brown orchard. Really, they are more glorified twigs than trees but a little warm weather and voila!

I also look forward to the first sprigs of mint to make an appearance...in my poor man's mojito. A little fresh mint, muddled with lime, topped off with Pellegrino. Yum.

And what summer evening is complete without a disco ball? Okay it doesn't fit at all but I felt inspired. Sometimes the Universe has to tell me things over and over. For a long time I thought the only way to get fit was to work out intensely. I tried boot camp. I ran. I joined a gym. I felt awful. I actually felt weaker. Tracie (awesome nutritionist here in Madison) told me that I needed to identify sources of stress and just walk. I kept pushing and running. My endocrinologist told me I needed to reinvent myself. And then I read an interesting article at The Clothes Make the Girl about thyroid disorders and sustained aerobic activity. Not good for the conversion of T4 to T3 (the thyroid hormone your body needs to run!). Amongst my other faults I am apparently a bad T4 converter anyway so probably not a good plan. Explains. So. Much.  Okay Universe, long walks it is and...the disco ball!

A mixture of karate, boxing, yoga, lunges, weights, and full out dancing and one hour later I am a happy, sweaty mess. I have long curly hair...I'm not kidding that I am a mess. It is great. And I can set the tempo. There are songs for recovery and songs for frenzy. The ball was my Christmas present last year. Highly recommend it for getting your groove on...and for cueing your family to not come anywhere near you unless they want an eye full of all out dancing mom.

Cinco de Wowza

I have had so many plans for my next post. I was going to tell the tale of fixing my iced over freezer drain hole with some true McGiver rigging of copper wire on the defrosting element:

Or share my new favorite kitchen toy, a vegetable spiraler. Spaghetti noodles made from zucchini really are fabulous!

But I really just want to share how much I enjoyed our Cinco de Mayo meal thanks to the Carnitas on Cauliflower Tortillas recipe at Slim Palate. Wow, that young man is wicked talented in the kitchen. His pictures are gorgeous but I am no food blogger so here is what our feast looked like:

I whipped up some mango/avacado salsa and cumin yogurt for sides and it was so delicious. I wish you could smell the cinnamon from the pork. We ate everything tostada style:

It is completely hard to believe you are eating cauliflower. They are light and fluffy and look like a masa tortilla. I started this journey planning to eat clean for 30 days but there is no going back. Jaybird used to lament that our meals were boring. But now we are all cooking together and having a ball. Our meals are balanced and flavorful. We have yet to try a recipe we have not loved. We all feel so much better. I am 16 lbs. lighter and it has been a breeze. My body feels like it is happy and getting healthier every day.

This week is finally warming up so hopefully you will be seeing us out on the water soon!

Paleo and Parmesan

Greek Salad with Local Goat Feta

Recently I had a wonderful conversation with a friend about diet and health. She was making some serious changes. I had been dabbling with changes for the last year and admired her take-the-bull-by-the-horns attitude. It was wishful thinking on my part that a few tweaks here and there and weekend exercise would be enough. I have Hashimoto's. A saliva test showed adrenal fatigue. Stress goes right to my thighs. I knew at the end of our conversation that my wave-at-the-bull-and-hope-for-the-best attitude was not going to cut it.

Based on what I had learned working with nutritionist Tracie Hittman, I decided to make my own radical changes. For one full month (April) I vowed to:

• Eliminate added sugar
• Eliminate all grains
• Eliminate alcohol

Tuna Salad, Apples, Radish, Cukes

It has been three weeks today. I am 10.5# lighter. I don't miss a thing and feel better than I have in years. I have found some great resources:

Melissa Joulwan has a wonderful website on Paleo eating and exercising in a healthy way when your thyroid is kaput. Her cookbook is beautiful and inspirational. I highly recommend it.

I can barely wrap my head around Joshua Weissman, a 17 year old who lost 100# with cooking and healthy eating. His photos and recipes are amazing. And did I mention he is 17!

Chicken Chili with Spinach and Greek Yogurt

So "Paleo" was not a word I really knew two weeks ago. It is the closest match to what I am currently doing and using the term to search recipes has been helpful. For me it puts the focus on eating whole foods, eliminates processed foods with chemical additives, and provides a lot of variety. I refuse to count anything, whether it be a calorie or a point or a gram. To me, that is as artificial as no-fat half-and-half. I want to learn what fuels my body and keeps it running smoothly.

The biggest difference between what I am eating and classic Paleo? Dairy. I was raised in Wisconsin. The cheese stays.

Journeys and Jaybird

Sometimes it is helpful to know where a person is coming from. I thought perhaps the somewhat random nature of my blog could be enhanced by sharing what are the the themes most influencing my life right now. I will blog in more detail on each soon.

Well for one, I would like to go:

On the left you see me last summer at the top of Harney's Peak in South Dakota. On the right it is 2003, I am 95# lighter and hiking a trail in Yellowstone. What happened in between is a combination of second career as an RN, full time school while working full time, half a thyroid that has given up the ghost, and a less forgiving metabolism as I age. And so some changes are in order which will provide many stories with buzzwords like Paleo, Wholehearted Living, and 10,000 Steps. But with a twist, of course.

Next up, Kirk and I would like to move:

We have lived in our home since 1993 and love it. This was the best place in the world to raise Jaybird. It is near a lake and he would spend summers exploring the shoreline and getting penny candy from the tiny pharmacy down the street. But Kirk and I will retire in 10-12 years and that has us thinking about our next chapter. For us it will be in an Airstream. We will sell everything and get a 25 to 28 foot Airstream with double panoramic windows and solar panels. Not that I have thought about it much. Kirk dreams of travel, I am a bit of a homebody, and so our home will roll. Everything we own will be in the trailer. Just the idea is liberating.

Finally, and most importantly, we will be launching this little Jaybird:

Who is no longer so little and actually towers over me. Who will be 18 this year. Who has a delightful plan for his life already. Who is independent but still loves hanging out with his folks once in a while.


So, what are the themes directing your life and choices?

Love and Knitting

Recently my friend visited from Boise with her beautiful daughter who just turned one. For months I wanted to knit a wee sweater for her. Something pretty but not fussy. Something with short sleeves, because I have a hard enough time keeping my own sleeves out of my food and creative endeavors, I certainly can't expect a one year old to do any better. Although, I bet she does.

I stopped. I started. I got distracted by other yarny things. Then my friend announced that she was coming for a visit and it was on.
Must. Finish. Sweater. Before. Baby. Graduates. High. School.

I was up until 2 am the night before they arrived. I tore out the seams several times and watched videos so I could finally learn to set sleeves correctly. But in the end it was worth it because nothing feels better than saying, "I made this for you." Whether food or tchotchke or a warm fuzzy, I love saying it and I love hearing it.

Highly recommend the pattern, Allegra (the short sleeved version of the Aurora). The yarn is Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK. Wonderful to work with but I really had to let go of the names they give their yarns. Pickle, Bathtub, Ragdoll. Bathtub??

Starting another sweater now for a baby boy. Nice blue color called Baltic. Thank you, Madelinetosh.

Love and Cinnamon

Sunday is the day in my family when we most often look at each other in the morning and utter that well worn phrase, "Sweet or savory?" Today was a gray day in Wisconsin and Jaybird was recovering from some Heavy-Metal-crowd-surfing-teenage-judgement injuries and we all agreed that the comfort of a sweet would be welcomed indeed.

Cinnamon Biscuits from Taste and Tell are amazing. I did not have time for the fussiness of a yeast cinnamon roll and this recipe was the first that came up on a google of "cinnamon biscuit". Fortuitous googling has never tasted so good. Usually biscuit recipes leave me feeling more parched than comforted but the secret here is a dousing with a 1/2 cup of milk when you remove them from the oven. You would think you would have a squishy mess but somehow this transforms the biscuit into a light fluffy mass with just the right amount of gooey goodness.

Even better, an opportunity to be reminded that we have the best neighbors ever. People who don't bat an eyelash when I call desperately for said milk babbling about the need to pour it over hot cinnamon biscuits and arriving 30 seconds later in my pajamas.

Enjoy!