Three Thoughts and a Recipe

three things struck me at the pool today:

1. i am really pleased that the young co-ed behind the counter at the DU rec center took the initiative to organize all of the lost ID cards and made a note in each of the delinquent card-holder's files.
it saved me $10.
i assured him that it was that kind of "go get 'em" attitude and "can do" spirit that will secure him a job and many promotions. i left out the part that first he has to figure out what he wants to do with his life and that that can take years. and once he becomes passionate about something, it actually gets worse, because then he has something to be disappointed about when he realizes how difficult it can be to find a real job.
i didn't want to burst his bubble, so for now i allowed him to bask in his ID card organizing skills.

2. at the end of my work out, i was able to pull myself out of the deep end of the pool without:
a) swimming over to the edge and using the ladder
b) hoisting myself face first onto the pool deck and bruising my thighs.

i actually grabbed onto the starting block, stood all the way up, and just stepped out.

it has been about a year since my doctor began treating me for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. i am very grateful that all of our hard work and time is beginning to pay off. (more on this later)

3. i love that there is a 50+ woman at my pool who swims (a full workout, not just playing around) in a string bikini.
swim cap.
goggles.
and a string bikini.
fabulous!

cellulite and jiggly tummy not withstanding, this woman struts her stuff! it makes me smile! may we all be so confidant and in love with ourselves and our bodies!
go go go!!!!

and now . . .

cara's chicken parmesan:
i don't use recipes . . . so here we go.

take two chicken breasts.
beat the crud out of them until very thin.
take two thin pieces of nice, dense bakery bread.
throw in the food processor to make coarse crumbs.
take two eggs whites and put them into a shallow bowl.
into another shallow bowl, place bread crumbs, a large handful or two of shredded parmesan cheese, a thumb-sized dollup of fresh basil (i like the wet kind in the tube), 2 garlic cloves.
learn how to spell dollup.
mix ingrediants together.

coat chicken . . . alternate between egg whites and bread/cheese mixture.
coat twice.

heat skillet with olive oil coating the bottom.
cook chicken until golden and cooked all the way through.

place on pan. top with tomato sauce from a jar and sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella.
place under broiler until bubbling.

enjoy

Status Check

Current Musings on . . .

Creativity . . . I know I have it, but I think it is stuck. I imagine there is a huge lump of creativity in my right elbow. And it can't get out. And then there are spurts when i have amazing ideas AND the energy to actually do something with them. Lucky for me, these times almost always come when i am driving or working or otherwise unaccesible. Sweet.

Marriage . . . I have decided to begin referring to the first two years of marriage as "The Years of Negotiation". These are the years when you find yourselves arguing (again and again) over things like "does the bedroom door stay open (herb) or closed (cara) at night" and who does the chores. Despite the fact that we have more than 8 months left in the YON, i must say i am really enjoying my man these days. he is sweet and funny and he gets excited over simple things like new undies from the gap with cars on them. it is nice when you figure out how to show love to the one you love! never knew it might turn out to be so simple!

Career . . . I have my hands dipped just a little bit into so many different areas right now. I will let you know if i ever figure out what i want to be when i grow up! this week alone, i interviewed a student for an internship program i am creating, saw a therapy client, volunteered, worked on an art commission, thought about another art commission, and shadowed a Child Life Specialist at the hospital! plus, i have started getting the "mommy bug". i am sure that will go away soon though!

My Butt . . . Sorry. But I really must include this one. After much hard work, I lost 25 pounds this fall. And I managed to keep them off over the holidays! And for the first time since the 9th grade, I bought a BIKINI on sunday afternoon! A real-life, full-fledged, "not your grandma's bikini" bikini! And . . . a size 8 dress. Size 8, people! Again, let me clarify why this is a huge deal! In the 6th grade, I wore clothes from the children's section. In the 7th grade, I wore a size 2 from the juniors section. In the 9th grade, I was a size 12 and have been ever since! Except for the times when I was a size 14. There were a few of those. SO, I am not sure i have ever actually been a size 8! Here is to firsts!

Beauty

WOW! I have felt so inspired and fired up since I gave my talk about beauty and body image last weekend. Then I posted most of it here because I was so excited about it! Then I thought more and more about my long time goal of having an article or even a book published. And then I thought more about what I wrote about beauty and body image. And how I might like to use some of that in my pursuit of publication.

So, for now, I am taking it off of the World Wide Web. Just seems like a good idea. I would hate for somebody to like it, "borrow" it, publish it before I do, and then all of a sudden I am talking to Katie Couric's replacement on the Today Show about why on earth I published somebody else's work. (I do realize, of course that that girl from Harvard most likely did use somebody else's work. But wouldn't it be weird if I was accused of plagiarizing my own plagiarizer? Note to self: learn how to spell plagiarize before trying to get published). If you have any questions about what I wrote, let me know. It is an important topic and I feel very excited about women learning where their true beauty and value come from! We can chat. Otherwise, it is going into a safe place for now.

The good news is, I feel inspired to take writing off of my "someday" list and put it on the "today" list. I am going to do it. I am going to work on the essay I published here and see what it turns into. I have a magazine in mind that I might send it to for review. Special thanks to my friend Kelly who inspires me by keeping her five year goals on her fridge. I have mine up now (to my husban's chagrin, i am sure because he hates things hanging on fridges!) I have already crossed one thing off!
Here I go!

Belly

Putting all comments from the small hospitalized child about my "baaaaby" aside, I have gained weight.

My clothes don't fit anymore. Last night we went to Old Navy to see if we could find some temporary fat clothes for each of us so we can be comfortable until we loose some weight. After trying on about 23 pieces of clothing, I had two that fit. One was ruled out because it just wasn't that cute. The other was ruled out because even though it was comfortable, cute and flowy, I look pregnant in it. Or, in Herb's words, "You don't really look pregnant, but you look like those ladies that know they are pregnant and start wearing maternity clothes too soon." Better, but still not worth buying. But it gave me an idea . . .

"Okay babe, here is how we are going to solve my weight & clothing issue: You are going to get me pregnant so I don't have to worry about getting back to my regular size just yet and I can wear cute maternity clothes instead. I mean (head cocked to one side, cute look on face, while rubbing exaggerated stuck out belly), look how cute I would be if you just knocked me up!"

Needless to say, he did not buy a fashion crisis as a substantial reason to start our family just yet. So, we will continue working on our marriage, I will hit the gym, and hopefully in the mean time, Old Navy will keep improving their maternity line.