a glorious invitation

credit: design sponge; apartment of teresa grow

this painting.
OH, this painting.

i love when i see something
or hear something
that stirs so deep
the truest of places
of myself.
of my heart.
of my hope
for what might be true
about myself
and about life
and about god
and love.
i love when this place is nudged,
gently woken up by a warm hand
placed on a shoulder
and a whisper is uttered,
"it is okay to wake up now.
to come out and play again.
there is hot cocoa on the stove
and at least one other person
in the world who is glad you are around.
wake up, will you?
it matters greatly that you do.
oh, how it matters!"

wHaT We'Ve bEEn dOing aRounD hErE

* enjoying cool, sunny colorado summer weather - complete with the afternoon rain we have not seen in 7 or 8 years!
* a great visit with two fun girlies from new mexico
* "driving miss mary, 2009" . . . a nice trip to see my mom and drive her around, post eye surgery
* homemade crab cakes!
* an amazing surprise date that i planned for herb: yummy happy hour on pearl street mall and a great mark cohn concert in boulder
* being introduced to the musical genius that is katie herzig . . . the opening act for mark cohn!
* getting sweet little thank you notes for planning said surprise date in the form of gifted iTunes songs
* looking forward to a week off of work, followed by a girls weekend in boulder with my sister!
* playing in the garden and enjoying fresh herbs in the kitchen!
* riding our bikes

life is pretty nice around these parts.
what have you been up to so far this summer?

once again

it should come as no surprise to you that i am back on a gluten and dairy free diet.
or should i say, i am trying to be.
for some reason, this diet is extremely difficult for me to stick with.
but time and time again,
i am told by professionals that it may bring great relief to my back pain
by decreasing the amount of food-induced inflammation i have.
i have a hard time buying that and so i have not really thrown myself into it
like i need to in order to see results.
but herb has recently changed his diet and he is being so diligent with it
that i have been inspired to give it another try!

what i really want to tell you is about some of the foods that i am finding
that fit my diet.
first of all, there is an amazing dairy free yogurt out there!
i was looking for soy yogurt for thursday's cilantro pesto, and i found this.
i don't really care for the taste or texture of most soy products
but i love the taste of coconut,
so when i found this, i was very excited!
and the texture is exactly like regular, dairy-based yogurt.
so even if you can eat dairy, give it a try!

next, is Whole Foods' Sonoma Chicken Salad.
if i am reading the nutritional info correctly,
it is not low in the calorie and fat department
(i can't tell if that is for one serving for for the entire recipe)
but it is high in protein and flavor
and i am most nearly positive
that it is dairy and gluten free.

for the past year or so i have been so inspired by
the The Gluten Free Girl
in her attempts to embrace her restrictions with food
and allow them to show her new, open doors she has never
before noticed.
it is not easy, but here i am, starting again.
go.


(* i am not a professional in the food and allergy department,
so if you cannot have these dairy and gluten,
please double check and do your own research
on the yogurt and the chicken salad before consuming.)

first*fruits

this summer i planted my first garden.
and yesterday i picked my first ingredients!
unlike everything else, my cilantro is
SPRINGING UP FAST & FURIOUS!
so last night i made an old favorite.
this is a very easy recipe
that even a novice can master and use to impress
all of your friends and family!

ENJOY!

Flank Steak with Cilantro-Almond Pesto

Yields:

4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and about 1 tablespoon pesto)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 3 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
• Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Prepare grill.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender; process until finely chopped (about 15 seconds). Add yogurt and juice; process until smooth.

Grill steak 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve steak with pesto. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

209 (47% from fat)

Fat:

10.8g (sat 3.9g,mono 4.9g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:

24.6g

Carbohydrate:

2.4g

Fiber:

0.6g

Cholesterol:

57mg

Iron:

2.5mg

Sodium:

152mg

Calcium:

36mg

chasing the dream

this morning i went on a writing date with myself .
we went to starbucks.
me, myself, and our computer.
and a notebook.
a comfy chair was involved and so was some fabulous
(but inappropriate for getting into a writing groove)
latin music.

i wrote a few paragraphs
that left me feeling uninspired.
i got sort of cranky about being there.
then i remembered that i have made many choices recently
that have afforded myself the time and opportunity to spend time writing.
so i wrote a little more.
and then i left.
but i have to have to have to believe
that every 20 or 30 minute chunk of time
every choice to go write instead of going home
will eventually set a rhythm, habit, and pattern.
eventually all of these chunks of writing will be edited
and worked
and moved around
until something i love and feel proud of sits on my bookshelf
and hopefully yours too.

baby steps.
one
two
three.

it's been a long long long time.

well, well, well.
it has been awhile, no?
the past few months have been a blogland blur.
i was quite busy
over here for a few months.
but honestly, even that has slowed down.
i think i am in season of contemplation
and prioritizing.

did you know that i have a counseling degree?
well, i do.
and i have been practicing counseling
in some form or another for eight years.
this spring, i decided to stop the majority of my work as a counselor.
so i have been wrapping things up at work for the past few months.
and dreaming about what might be next!??!?!!?!
writing.
well, that is something i have been talking about for a long time
but it is time to get serious and really let my passion sing.
and that is taking a lot of personal soul searching
in order to get past a lot of internal blech before i can really
pursue this dream to the fullest.

but right now, i am really missing this blog.
so, in this effort to reintroduce myself to blog world,
i thought i would share some current favorite things.

1. OPI An Affair in Red Square
2. this film


3. and excited to see these films:

4. day dreaming about teaching young girlies to become guerrilla artists.

5. playing games with my favorite guy named herb.

6. trying out new recipes.

7. planting my garden.

8. listening to my wind chimes in the late spring windy weather.

9. making new friends.

10. ordering new swimsuits and getting excited about floating around at this place!
Eddie Bauer: Miraclesuit® Solid-Color Valentine One-Piece

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i am happy**happy to be dipping my toes back into blogland
and looking forward to sharing more stories and pictures soon.