Hello Y’all! I hope you are doing great where ever you are in the world. We are in Fall but it sure feels like a long hot Summer. But no worries, in a couple of weeks, we will be layering on again and then comes Winter. Its been one heck of a busy time but I’ve also had time to reflect on a few things. I haven’t had time to write in a while but I woke up feeling poetic today so here goes. Feel free to share your thoughts, comment, like and follow. Enjoy!
Its Beautiful Because I Said So!
Life is beautiful. Its one big maze. From the first time we open our eyes, until the last time the light fades out into nothing. Just like a caterpillar has to wiggle around in it’s cocoon until it breaks free and feels its very first rays of sunshine, so is the struggle of life.
The struggle to be. To drown out all the voices and dare to dream for yourself. The strength to be resilient in difficult times and to be level headed in good times. The courage to be you. The boldness to stand up for what you believe in and to not be afraid to be who you are. The grace to brace yourself against the currents and storms of life. Because they will come.
Knowing who you are and why you’re here is the key to life’s purpose. No one can define that but you. In the stillness and quieting down of your soul, clarity comes. The superficial become unimpressive and the intentions of the world around you become clearer.
Life has its peaches but also it’s darts. Learning to lighten the burden is the key to traveling light and finishing well. There’s so much to learn, so much growing to do…We will take it one step at a time.
Until I come your merry way again, be safe, upbeat and hydrated.
Hello Y’all! I hope you are doing well in your corner of the globe. It’s been a minute since my last post and life has somewhat returned to normal since Snowstorm Uri decided to take a hike. Its March!! Happy New month to you all. I hope your new year resolutions are still on? People say that most individuals fall off the wagon by the end of January but hopefully you’re still in it till the end.
Do you ever have those days where you’re up late and craving all things rich in calories, savory on the taste buds and filling for your belly? Well, this was one of those nights for me. I had been craving pizza all week but tonight was different. It was as if my stomach was saying ‘It’s either you do something about this or neither one of us is sleeping tonight’…jeez. So I do the right thing by looking up the calories in a pizza I would usually get in the past and the time of day I intended ingesting those calories…I changed my mind and decided to make my own; Free of the excess oils and hidden fats. A recipe that I could count all the ingredients on one hand…Ha Ha! Off to the kitchen I went to make my own pizza. Surprisingly, once I got started, the growling in my stomach settled down quite a bit. I started to wonder, best hurry up now before it resumes again. Photos and recipe are below!!!
My post today is about the power of communication. We all have a story. Life happens to E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E, are phrases we are all too familiar with. I noticed that the most open phases of communication is when we’re kids and have no filter, and when we’re old-ER and no longer care what the world thinks. But there’s a gap between these two phases where we are either outwardly silenced or inwardly feel the need to conceal, withhold, or reveal as little as possible. Keeping up with appearances, not wanting to ruffle feathers, show weakness or simply ignoring things and hoping they’d die off or disappear are some of the coping mechanisms that we pick up along the way. This may appear fine and good in the moment but can I tell you that the burden on the human body is so heavy that emotional and mental weights have now been proven to cause illness, cancer, tremors, hernias, high blood pressure…you name it.
I stumbled upon a show where a neurosurgeon was talking about the connection between the body, the mind and the human spirit and it blew my mind. I later listened/read (can’t remember which), a story of an elderly woman who had a tremor. She had issues with walking and just doing everyday simple things. A neighbor invited her over to join their small group which she obliged since she lived alone and company would be good. On a particular day during the groups meeting, everyone was to share on something that happened to them that they never really opened up about. One by one, each person shared their story – nothing was too big or too insignificant, if it mattered to them, it was important.
It came time for the old lady to speak, she looked down, took a deep breath, and still shaking started talking. Her son had died many years ago. It was devastating. Everyone expected her to get over it and move on after the grieving period was over (technically). But she wasn’t ready. Attempts to talk about it were shut down. It was too painful for her husband to remember. And so, she buried it within her soul. As she spoke, pausing to wipe her eyes every now and again, one of the people in the group spoke ‘you’re not shaking’ he said. The old lady stopped and looked down at her hands. The tremors weren’t there. She could not believe it. She held out her hands and the shaking was almost non existent. The meeting at this point was over, everyone came round to give her hugs, there were more tears but it could only be a miracle that this happened.
When I listened to that story, I feel like the grief she was not allowed to express had to be suppressed. Since it was suppressed, the emotional stress of carrying this burden began to break down her physical body, manifesting itself as a tremor. Folks, I am not a medical doctor of any sort but I strongly believe that our mind, bodies and soul are intertwined and have the ability to affect the other especially when we’re out of sync, stressed, traumatized or holding unto blacked out memories that we have forgotten we even have. I feel that instead of waiting for the ‘I don’t give a rats behind years’, why don’t we give ourselves permission to be our authentic selves and speak our truth…NOW. I feel like old age should be enjoyed and not just spent in and out of medical facilities because of things we could have dealt with.
Disclaimer: Not all ailments are mentally or emotionally related but a lot of them are.
My Late Night (Two Crust) Pizza Recipe!
Crust Ingredients: 2 Cups of Flour, 1/2 Tsp of Salt, 2 tsp of Fast Acting Yeast, 1/2 Cup of Water, 1 tsp of Sugar.
Topping are whatever I had in my fridge at the time: Pepperoni, Black Olives, Pickled Banana Peppers and Green Bell Peppers, (No Cheese TYVM).
Sauce: A combination of Marinara Sauce & Ketchup.
Directions: Warm the water in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add sugar and then yeast. In a mixing bowl, add flour and salt and mix. Pour in the foamy, activated, yeast water. Mix and cover for one hour. Turn your Oven to 350oF. Add a teaspoon of olive oil to the dough and a dusting of flour. Divide dough into two and refrigerate one half for later. Get your rolling pin and stretch the dough out. Get a pan and apply cooking spray. Transfer the dough and stretch some more using your fingers. Add the tomato sauce, toppings and pop in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Its ready. Cravings satisfied. Time for bed!
Until I come your way again. Tell your story, it may be the one thing that can save your life, your health, your relationships…you never know until to speak your truth.
Hello Y ‘all! Its my hope that you are doing well in your part of the world, practicing social distancing and staying home? We are going on our third week of the Covid-19 induced lockdown and it’s become my new normal in a weird kind of way. Limiting my time outdoors as much as possible is the best way to reduce the chances of exposure to the virus. My heart goes out to those who have lost family members and loved ones and to those fighting the disease right this moment. Through this trying time, I am doing my best to stay healthy, remain productive and still find some semblance of a lifestyle while remaining positive and its been tough.
When the outbreak hit the shores of the United States, it was no longer a problem within ‘those’ countries. S**t got real, if you will excuse my French. The store shelves were wiped clean in a matter of 24 hours. I was one of the late shoppers and by the time I got to the grocery store, there was literally nothing worth buying. There was no bread. No milk. No meat. NO NOTHING! So, I have decided to go back to the basics and brush up on a few skills, which includes re-learning the art of baking good ole homemade bread using very few items laying around in your pantry.
Lets Do This!!
Ingredients: 3 Cups of bread flour, 2 tbsp. or 1/8 cup or 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil, 2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast, ¹⁄ 3 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water.
First, heat a cup of water for one minute and pour into a small bowl. Add the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes until the yeast becomes activated or foamy. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add vegetable oil and ¹/3 cup of sugar into the same bowl and mix. If you don’t like a sweet bread, you can cut back on the sugar. Add 2 cups of flour a little bit at a time (about ¹/3 at a time) and keep mixing with a spatula or spoon. Pour out the flour unto a nice dry surface that’s been dusted with flour. Knead lightly for 8 minutes. Using the same large bowl, add a tables spoon of oil to coat the bowl, and place the dough in it. Cover with a damp cloth, and leave to rise for 2 hours until it doubles in size. P.S.: Notice, I’m using the third cup of flour to knead the dough. Setting a timer helps.
Take the dough out, roll and stretch it some more into the shape of a loaf. Take your 9″ x 5″ bread pan and place the dough in the pan. Cover with a slightly damp napkin for about another 1.5 hours. Afterwards, remove the napkin. Depending on the size of the dough or pan, you should notice its risen about an inch or more above the pan, and now its ready to bake. Heat your oven to about 325-350° Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. If you have an oven that doesn’t heed to basic direction, you might want to start at a lower temperature…just saying. When the top is golden brown, remove from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. Scroll down to see the finished product. Its ready!!!!
Some of the utensils you need.
Lying around in your pantry.
Lets begin!
If it doesnt foam, the yeast is either bad or the water is too hot.
Remember…1/3 at a time and fold in.
Lightly knead..
Oil the bowl… ANY bowl should do :)wink
After the first rise, knead again for about 5 minutes.
Place in bread tin or pan and let rise for 1.5 hours.
its risen alright 🙂
Lets bake!
Helpful Tips During The Quarantine!!
♥Finish uncompleted projects around the house. Sort through your closet. Organize your shoes. Write a list of all the kitchen utensils you need…I’m already making a list to get me some solid mixing bowls 🙂
♥Reignite your artsy side. My goal is to finish the blanket I have been croqueting for longer than I’m going to admit on here…he he!!
♥Write a thankful list E-V-E-R-Y D-A-Y. Life is so precious. People are dying, all alone and at a speed that is unprecedented because the virus is ravaging the body so fast, people are literally disappearing like mist. No preparation. No goodbyes. NO NOTHING!
♥Keep up your fitness regimen. A lot of people including yours truly are exercising via zoom and other apps which help boost morale and keep your body active despite being confined.
♥Take your vitamins DAILY, whether you feel like it or not. This includes Vitamin C and D especially now that you’re not out and about or in the sun as much.
♥Rest. The news is constantly updating us on how many people have died or how many newly infected cases there are, or the problems medical officials are having on the frontlines. This is well and good to keep us informed but the rise in fear or anxiety can lead to unrest or worry for the future. Don’t let it get to you. Turn off the TV and go to bed on time. Rest easy, tomorrow will come and we will deal with it when we get there.
Voila!
Done!!
Until I come your way again, stay healthy, upbeat and remember if the rest of the populace decides to panic-buy the bread aisle at your grocery store, you can always bake your own!
Hello Y’all! I hope you’ve had a good week so far. I was on YouTube catching up on a few channels I subscribe to and I came across – as always – another makeup tutorial that I usually end up watching even if I have other things to do. As amazing as the ‘after’ effect was in comparison to the ‘before’, I see that the art of having a skill or a craft is fast becoming a distant memory in our generation. People need an outlet and in this case, makeup fills that void.
In every culture of the world, the women were raised with some crafting skill or the other. It was a requirement to be able to use your hands for a skill. I was thinking to myself that I do not know anyone in my age bracket that knows how to use a sewing machine (myself included)…and not that we would make our clothes ourselves 😀 (that would be disastrous), but just to know how to tinker with one. Anyways no worries if you have no skills, feel free to blame it on the industrial revolution 😀 😀 for rendering us all inept in one way or the other.
Taking a ride down memory lane, It was my first week of 4th grade, there was a girl in my class who sat behind me that seemed to be poking around with two huge pins and some yarn; I later learned the term was called knitting. I was instantly fascinated and it wasn’t long before I pleaded with her to teach me how to knit. Before long I learned how to make a shawl, then a pair of socks and a cap – for fun! After 4th grade, my family moved to a different state and we had new neighbors. While playing outside every other evening, I noticed our neighbors cook would sit outside on their porch and knit. At the time, I had never heard the word ‘crochet’ before. She would do this between chores and as always, I was curious about how she was able to do that with one pin instead of two? I was fascinated and wanted to learn how. I would go and sit by her and watch her hands move very intricately between loops creating the most beautiful table cloths I have ever seen. I had to learn this new style of knitting and fast. She didn’t speak much english but she was very patient and happy to show me how.
Fast forward to present day, although a large portion of my job is done by clicking a mouse and sketching, every now and then I bring out my knit kit and continue working on that supposed table spread or blanket I have been knitting for a couple of years now… 😀 Its something I still find time to do. There is something very calming about knitting. Its as if your thoughts are streamlined into two basic things: where the hook needs to go and when to pull on more thread…very therapeutic if I might say. I have attached a few pictures. Let me know what your favorite crafting skill is and how you learned it. Until next time, I remain
As amazing as the ‘after’ effect was in comparison to the ‘before’, I see that the art of having a skill or a craft is fast becoming a distant memory in our generation. People need an outlet and in this case, makeup fills that void.
Periwinkle Starr 