http://www.paulindigo.blogspot.com
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
On Being Forty
I kind of like it.
I feel more relaxed, not as volatile. More centered and grounded.
I am more likely to say the right things at the right times, instead of blurting them out.
I am more likely to say nothing at all, and that is often a good thing.
I am less likely to care that other people disagree.
I am less likely to put up with drama.
I can get my emotions to work for me, instead of being overwhelmed by them.
I can do a lot more good in my 40s, than I could in my 20s.
I think I will.
I feel more relaxed, not as volatile. More centered and grounded.
I am more likely to say the right things at the right times, instead of blurting them out.
I am more likely to say nothing at all, and that is often a good thing.
I am less likely to care that other people disagree.
I am less likely to put up with drama.
I can get my emotions to work for me, instead of being overwhelmed by them.
I can do a lot more good in my 40s, than I could in my 20s.
I think I will.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Weekend Redux
- Sleeping in until 11:00am sure felt luxurious
- Completed the FAFSA – finally!
- A trip to Costco -I couldn’t be persuaded to wear shoes, so wore my slippers instead.
- Ran into my artist friend Nicole Cawfield who told me she has a great job, but wishes she didn’t have to work every day. Her and me both!
- Bought a $100,000 Bar at CVS and shared it with Sam, ‘cause he’s worth at least $50,000.
- Researched candidate websites for Mayor and 4th District City Council. Now that I’ve been through city politics for our PIEA, I actually care who gets elected.
- Coughing and sneezing and coughing and sneezing. Not sure how much longer I’ll have this, but Sam is on his 13th day of being sick. It’s been 5 days for me.
- I want a grey kitten.
- Made plans to visit Lynn Wylie for a long weekend in June. It can’t come soon enough!
- This weekend felt like a 4-day weekend. Wonderful. It’s a shame it takes being sick to slow us down, but God has it felt good to step off the hamster wheel. Even with all the coughing.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Winter Colds
Sam has been blowing his nose non-stop.
I’ve been coughing.
We are a mess, he and I.
We’ve watched some movies, read magazines and slept.
It’s good to have company when you are sick.
Lost in Translation
Hello? Any one there? Oh hi! I didn’t know if I would find anyone here or not. It’s been so long since I’ve posted you know. Thanks for checking in - it’s very nice of you.
I feel like I should explain my long absence, and I wished it were a better story. I’ve been busy. Very, very busy. That’s a new one, right? First time you’ve heard it? Well, candidly, I get tired of hearing myself talk about how busy I’ve been. When I die the most true thing my friends and family will say about me was that I was always very busy. Good grief.
But it hasn’t only been that I’ve been busy. It’s also been that I’ve been feeling rather private of late. The ying and yang of blogging is that while it can feel incredibly cathartic to post something that a few will read and many more could potentially read, those few and potential many may not be the most ideal audience for my catharsis.
And so that little voice that lives inside my head, the one that usually nags and pesters me, has actually been looking out for me lately, although I wish he would adjust his attitude a bit.
“You are really going to write that? Well, I guess that makes you a f*#king idiot then.”
See what I mean? I have threatened to send that voice in my head to an Emily Post seminar to brush up on manners and graciousness but he reminds me that I should save my money for that day when I become homeless. I might need it then. He’s sly like that.
So anyway, for the last month or so, I’ve written dozens of posts in my head, but exactly none of them have made it past the editor. And that is probably just as well.
My friend Rita attended a writing seminar a couple of months ago and came back with a good tip. She reminded me of it again this week and so I am going to try it here. She suggested that rather than writing a whole long post or journal entry, I try writing in bullet points. I kind of like the idea and because I think Rita is the Boss, Applesauce, I am going to give it a whirl.
But not today. Tomorrow.
I feel like I should explain my long absence, and I wished it were a better story. I’ve been busy. Very, very busy. That’s a new one, right? First time you’ve heard it? Well, candidly, I get tired of hearing myself talk about how busy I’ve been. When I die the most true thing my friends and family will say about me was that I was always very busy. Good grief.
But it hasn’t only been that I’ve been busy. It’s also been that I’ve been feeling rather private of late. The ying and yang of blogging is that while it can feel incredibly cathartic to post something that a few will read and many more could potentially read, those few and potential many may not be the most ideal audience for my catharsis.
And so that little voice that lives inside my head, the one that usually nags and pesters me, has actually been looking out for me lately, although I wish he would adjust his attitude a bit.
“You are really going to write that? Well, I guess that makes you a f*#king idiot then.”
See what I mean? I have threatened to send that voice in my head to an Emily Post seminar to brush up on manners and graciousness but he reminds me that I should save my money for that day when I become homeless. I might need it then. He’s sly like that.
So anyway, for the last month or so, I’ve written dozens of posts in my head, but exactly none of them have made it past the editor. And that is probably just as well.
My friend Rita attended a writing seminar a couple of months ago and came back with a good tip. She reminded me of it again this week and so I am going to try it here. She suggested that rather than writing a whole long post or journal entry, I try writing in bullet points. I kind of like the idea and because I think Rita is the Boss, Applesauce, I am going to give it a whirl.
But not today. Tomorrow.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Let's Dish
Yesterday I spent the early part of my afternoon at Let’s Dish, the place where you assemble meals to take home to your freezer. My friends Susan and Jennifer got me a Let’s Dish gift certificate for my birthday this summer and the three of us went to try it 
out in August. Since then I’ve been hooked and yesterday was my fourth return visit.
Let’s Dish exists especially for people like me. People who say they like to cook, who perhaps even boast an extensive collection of cookbooks and recipes, who appreciate a home cooked meal and who feel even more strongly about spending family time around the kitchen table, but who, when asked at the end of a long workday, “what’s for dinner?” consistently respond with something like “whatever cereal you can find in the cupboard.”
That’s me.
So Let’s Dish appealed to me from the beginning. Instead of pointing my family to the half empty box of Raisin Bran Crunch, I could open the freezer door, pull out one of the yummy sounding meals I had prepared, pop it in the microwave to defrost, then on to the stove or oven to cook and voila a “home cooked” meal was magically ready to serve.
The whole process is only slightly more complicated that warming up a tv dinner, but to anyone who ends up sitting at the dinner table, it appears that I actually cooked something! Yet there is no trying to figure out what to make, no scrounging through the cabinet for the right spices and no trips to the grocery store for missing ingredients. Who couldn’t love that!
What has surprised me is how much I love the actual experience of “dishing.” For all the benefits of easy meal preparation at home, the actual assembly of the meals, or the “dishing” as they like to call it, is where it’s all at for me.
The experience starts with registration online. You choose either 4, 8 or 12 meals from a list of about 16 and select a date and time to “dish” that best fits your schedule. When you arrive at the store, you are given a list of your menu choices along with an incredibly cute apron and bandana to wear as you prepare your meals.
There are 8 sal
ad bar type stations, each with 2 menu items and exact instructions for “assembling.” If the recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of oil, you’ll find a 1 Tbsp measuring spoon next to a bottle of oil. If it calls for ½ cup of chopped red peppers, you’ll find a ½ cup long handled measuring scoop lying in a container of freshly chop
ped red peppers. You have permission to vary the recipes to your own tastes, so its perfectly ok to add a little extra garlic powder or to skip the onions altogether. Everything gets mixed inside freezer bags and foil pans and when finished, your bag or pan gets a sticker with a description of the meal and simple instructions for preparing it.
The company suggests that “dishing” is a great activity to share with friends and I’ve seen couples, friends, and mom/daughter pairs there each time I’ve visited. But I like going alone best. I find myself deep in the “zone” almost as soon as I’ve started assembling. There is something about it that really appeals to the way my brain works. Some people get a runner’s high - I get a “dishing” high!
The mood of the place is always relaxed and happy. People are having fun. And they know they are cutting by ¾ the time they would spend making the same meal at home. Who wouldn’t smile about that? And when you’re finished – there are refreshments and desserts you can nibble on while you look at next month’s menu.
So this month this is what we are having for family dinner at our house…
Potato Crusted Tilapia Filets
Barbequed Boneless Short Ribs
Lemon Herb Chicken & Parmesan Green Beans
Herbed Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter
Cheesy Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas
Mediterranean Shrimp & Pasta
And it will be no trouble at all!
out in August. Since then I’ve been hooked and yesterday was my fourth return visit.Let’s Dish exists especially for people like me. People who say they like to cook, who perhaps even boast an extensive collection of cookbooks and recipes, who appreciate a home cooked meal and who feel even more strongly about spending family time around the kitchen table, but who, when asked at the end of a long workday, “what’s for dinner?” consistently respond with something like “whatever cereal you can find in the cupboard.”
That’s me.
So Let’s Dish appealed to me from the beginning. Instead of pointing my family to the half empty box of Raisin Bran Crunch, I could open the freezer door, pull out one of the yummy sounding meals I had prepared, pop it in the microwave to defrost, then on to the stove or oven to cook and voila a “home cooked” meal was magically ready to serve.
The whole process is only slightly more complicated that warming up a tv dinner, but to anyone who ends up sitting at the dinner table, it appears that I actually cooked something! Yet there is no trying to figure out what to make, no scrounging through the cabinet for the right spices and no trips to the grocery store for missing ingredients. Who couldn’t love that!
What has surprised me is how much I love the actual experience of “dishing.” For all the benefits of easy meal preparation at home, the actual assembly of the meals, or the “dishing” as they like to call it, is where it’s all at for me.
The experience starts with registration online. You choose either 4, 8 or 12 meals from a list of about 16 and select a date and time to “dish” that best fits your schedule. When you arrive at the store, you are given a list of your menu choices along with an incredibly cute apron and bandana to wear as you prepare your meals.
There are 8 sal
ad bar type stations, each with 2 menu items and exact instructions for “assembling.” If the recipe calls for 1 Tbsp of oil, you’ll find a 1 Tbsp measuring spoon next to a bottle of oil. If it calls for ½ cup of chopped red peppers, you’ll find a ½ cup long handled measuring scoop lying in a container of freshly chop
ped red peppers. You have permission to vary the recipes to your own tastes, so its perfectly ok to add a little extra garlic powder or to skip the onions altogether. Everything gets mixed inside freezer bags and foil pans and when finished, your bag or pan gets a sticker with a description of the meal and simple instructions for preparing it.The company suggests that “dishing” is a great activity to share with friends and I’ve seen couples, friends, and mom/daughter pairs there each time I’ve visited. But I like going alone best. I find myself deep in the “zone” almost as soon as I’ve started assembling. There is something about it that really appeals to the way my brain works. Some people get a runner’s high - I get a “dishing” high!
The mood of the place is always relaxed and happy. People are having fun. And they know they are cutting by ¾ the time they would spend making the same meal at home. Who wouldn’t smile about that? And when you’re finished – there are refreshments and desserts you can nibble on while you look at next month’s menu.
So this month this is what we are having for family dinner at our house…
Potato Crusted Tilapia Filets
Barbequed Boneless Short Ribs
Lemon Herb Chicken & Parmesan Green Beans
Herbed Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter
Cheesy Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas
Mediterranean Shrimp & Pasta
And it will be no trouble at all!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
New Year, Same Restaurant
Kin Lin’s for the 3rd time this week.
Green beans, tofu, mushrooms and red pepper oil.
Three diet Dr. Peppers to share.
A box to take home.
Always someone we know.
I love the comfort of routine.
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