More / Less

Inspired by Cup of Jo (still the best blog out there), in 2019, I'm seeking

MORE

Fun

Intimacy

Vulnerability

Day trips

Bath bombs

Reading 

Writing

Love in my heart

Organization

Home cooking

Trying new things

Kindness

Outdoors time

And LESS

Impatience

Instagram

Gossiping

Anxiety

Insecurity

Candy

Mental escape hatches

Let's see how this goes, new year.

Reset Button

I sat the long New Year's weekend out with the flu. I did a lot of laying around, thinking of all of my to-do lists and how none of them would ever get done again and that would be OK. 

After three solid days my will to go on returned and in a burst of energy I took down all of the Christmas decorations and the tree. I grew up in a house where the Christmas tree once lingered all the way to Saint Patricks Day (with coordinating ornaments of course), so I never understood the people who took their trees down the day after New Year's until last year (my first with a child). Now I get it: let's get on with our lives already. It's a little sad but it's also so nice to feel ready to take on what's next.

The whole family experienced a rolling wave of the flu - first my dad on Christmas day, followed by my mother, my sister-in-law, my mother-in-law (on the other side of the family), myself, Baby SevPrez, and finally, the Mister. My parents were healthy enough to take the baby on the New Years Day overnight to give us a break. As much as it was such a relief to be able to lie around and sleep uninterrupted by the needs of a sick child, it was equally as amazing to just be in the house with my husband alone. As parents who both work full time, we are always trying to spend as much time with our kid as possible, which I realized while laying on the couch with a flu, is probably to the detriment of our relationship. You tend not to realize that it is difficult to completely and utterly relax and enjoy each other without being encumbered by the responsibilities of a youngin.  We need to make time, even if it's just once a month, to be alone (not after 8pm in our house on the couch while she sleeps upstairs).

I guess what I mean to say is that being sick is such a total drag on every level. But when you step back and look at it from a birds eye view, it's actually a chance to wake up and realign to what will really sustain you in having a healthier life. Like having smoothies for breakfast, or more time alone with your husband.

Quality Control

I've been thinking a lot about quality lately. Quality of life. Air quality. Quality wardrobe investments. Top quality pieces of furniture. The quality of my writing (which has taken a nose dive on this blog, sorry about that.)


So many things in 2011 are disposable. As a culture it seems we've decided that disposable = easier. Maybe that's true in the short term. Buy a bottle of water and throw it out when you're done. That's easier than remembering to fill up a water bottle at home, carrying the empty vessel around when you've drank all the water, and washing it when you get home. But think of all the hidden work in that water bottle. You have to stop somewhere to get it. You have to throw almost $2 away on it. You acquire a useless receipt that may or may not hang around in your pocket for too long. You have to wrangle with the recyclables at your house. And then there's the psychic toll of thinking about how all our empty water bottles have turned into the 8th continent of the world. Ugh. (Have you seen The Story of Stuff? It takes 20 mintues. Do check it out.*)


Or take most of things that are bought at Ikea. Sure, my $600 Ikea couch lasted almost a decade. But I also have a garage full of $20 lamps, chairs, and $2 vases that I cannot bear to throw out but don't want in my house anymore. I bought them when I moved from an apartment to a house and felt the imperative to fill the house up. But I couldn't afford nice pieces and didn't take the time to muse about what the chair that I would really love and treasure for the better part of my lifetime would look like. I just saw things at Ikea that I could afford immediately, and voila -- problem solved. (Apparently I'm not the only one, and that's why Ikea is the biggest furniture manufacturer in the world.)


Or all the sweaters I've bought because they were $20 on sale and who doesn't need another cardigan? You know who? I don't. It's taken me a long time to figure out that having a glut of bargain clothing doesn't make me a better dresser because I have more options. In fact I tend to wear the same things over and over again because I can barely squeeze my hand between the clothes in my closet to see what's in there. I forget about a lot of the clothes I have because they are lost in the oversupply. I give away a garbage bag of clothing every seasonal wardrobe rotation. I just keep filling up my closet with irresistible bargains. The quantity obscures the quality. 


Having a baby who comes with lots of stuff has really amped up my anxiety about being overstuffed. There are less drawers in which I can hide away my extra things. The baby has a lot of stuff that is constantly in use and has to stay out in the open. So I find myself, about every 2 weeks, thinking of a new corner of my house that needs to be organized and cleaned. All the things stuffed into my secret hiding places need to be ruthlessly sorted through, thrown out, or put back in an orderly fashion -- in clear bins labeled with a P-Touch! I want to be one of those Bed Bath & Beyond ladies!!!! Okay, no, I don't actually need to go shopping to acquire more things to put my things in. But I have never before had the desire to take on these particular Martha Stewart qualities (in the past it's always been glue guns, yes, overly organized drawers, no). 


A lot of people feel over-stuffed at this time of year with food and with objects. This year my family tried to reduce the amount of presents exchanged, and though we did make a dent, I still found myself really disappointed with the amount of shopping, spending, and wrapping I did. But it was a step in the right direction. 


I have gained a lot of resolve and taken solace in a blog called Treehouse Chatter. It's written by a friend of mine who over the past few years has embraced veganism, minimalism, and environmentalism. I don't want to speak for her (you should really read her blog), but I think her personal evolution has come from a very curious, exploratory place, and as a result I find what she shares on her blog (and in our conversations) to be inspiring and ellucidating, not judgmental, intimidating, preachy, or militant. I am really happy to have a place on the internet that I can visit when I have cruised my regular assortment of pretty blogs that have me thinking that I would be a much happier person if I got yet another incarnation of a long-sleeved striped t-shirt. 


It's nice to know that there are blogs that inspire healthier living, not just online shopping. I'm not sure what Seven Presidents inspires, but I hope maybe I have piqued your curiosity enough for you to click on Treehouse Chatter and see what it has to say. 




*After you've watched that, perhaps you need something a little lighter. I recommend Marcel The Shell With Shoes On One & Two.

A Must Read

I cried several times when reading the article "Letting Go" by Atul Gawande, in the August 2nd issue of The New Yorker. It's about modern medicine and the art of dying, or rather, how inadequate modern medicine is at preparing people for death. A must read for anyone who feels that meditating on the end of things is a powerful way to live, or anyone who's life has been touched by a terminal illness. It made me want to be a Hospice nurse, or go find some Hospice nurses, look them in the eye, and shake their hands. 


You can read the article online here. It's pretty long, but life is short, and if you read the article, it'll make sense why you should take the time to think about it. 


I didn't want to be a downer and post the link on Facebook, but then I walked by this storefront on the way back to my office at lunch, so I took it as a sign that I should share it somewhere.


Frivolous side note: neon pink masking tape is awesome. Must get my hands on some.

A Walk In The Woods

Just another day in Maine walking the dog. 

Eggsellent

Let me just say that I have never made a recipe authored by Martha Rose Shulman that I didn't love. To boot the end product is always both delicious and healthy, as she writes "Recipes for Health" for the New York Times. Her Greek Baked Squash Omelet (it's really a fritatta) was no exception.


(This is the perfect time of year for fritatta recipes, if you have any plans to decorate Easter eggs. More on that next week!)


I want to go out on a limb and say this recipe is un-mess-up-able. I ad-libbed to make it a one skillet recipe and it still turned out well. I did all my vegetable sautéing in the same cast iron skillet that I added the egg mixture to and popped into the oven. Realizing it was a much bigger skillet than she called for, I used a dozen eggs instead of eight, since I had them ready anyway from my easter egg project, and threw in about a quarter cup more greek yogurt. I was a little nervous that it was going to be too thin but after checking it in the oven and seeing it all fluffy, I felt triumphant. 


It's good reheated in the microwave, but nothing compares to how it tastes and smells right out of the oven.

My Worst Nightmare: Bread Detox

This week I am on doctor's orders to go on an elimination diet, which means no sugar, dairy, wheat, corn, caffeine, eggs, citrus, or solanaceae (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant.) Oh and no nuts or dried fruits because they contain sulphites. You cut all of these items out of your diet completely for one week, then reintroduce them one at a time, giving each item 48 hours to see if your body has a reaction.


Holy mackerel. I'm on day two and the panic has not yet subsided. I've done this sort of thing before except I was allowed to eat wheat and potatoes. They are definitely my safety blanket. I mean, a world without bread and french fries? Not a world I want to live in! This being the case I shelled out close to $6 for a loaf of gluten-free bread yesterday, only to discover that, at best, it's a third cousin twice removed from bread I have known and loved, even when toasted and smothered with almond butter (organic).*


For dinner last night I made a butternut squash soup, but I put a sweet potato in it (usually the recipe calls for a regular potato too). I must have been kidding myself, because after I ate said soup I googled "sweet potato solanaceae" on my Blackberry only to discover that sweet potatoes are on my Do Not Eat list too. Sigh. At least Mr. SevPrez will have something to eat this week. He was quite alarmed to find out that I came back from Whole Foods with nothing for him. What can I say, walking around the market, forsaking all my favorite foods (it's high season for citrus fruits right now) the world seemed to be closing in on me. I couldn't be trusted to have any warm baguettes in my cart.


I know it's early, but I think this may be the hardest thing I have ever done (okay maybe it's tied with the boot-strappers we did on Saturday, it's been a tough week). The good news? I can still eat any and all animal proteins, which includes bacon. ; )


*After calling my naturopath to clarify the nut rule, nut butters are also on the DNE list unless they specifically say "no sulphites." A trip to Whole Foods yielded no such product.

Butternut Everything

I love butternut squash. I love the taste, the texture, the color, the shape. I love that now that I have a big-girl knife set, I'm no longer afraid of cutting them in half. I love that I now know that you can peel them with a vegetable peeler. With these problems solved, butternut squash is probably the vegetable I am most comfortable experimenting with in the kitchen.


So when I stumbled upon this recipe on the site of Puritan & Genesta, a health food store in Mystic, CT, I knew I would make it. And that I did, after a long day of work, some sample sale and grocery shopping, and a long, local train ride. (I only exhibit this kind of commitment to cooking on a weeknight for things involving winter squash.) 


I substituted spinach for chard, because I had a lot of it lying around (with a spoon in the bag to keep the greens fresh, a Heloise tip via Aunt D). I would advise you to be free with the lemon juice. I used more than the recipe called for initally, and every time I reheat the dish in the microwave, I add some more, with pepper, for more life and zing. 


The recipe yields a lot of food -- so far we've eaten it three days in a row, and we're not even sick of it, which is a testament to the variety of flavors and textures going on here.


PASTA WITH ONION, GREENS AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH

1 (1³/₄-pound) butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice (4 cups cubed)
¹/₄ cup olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
¹/₂ teaspoon cumin
2 cups chopped onion
8 ounces mixed-grain bow ties or penne
1 pound chard, trimmed and shredded (about 12 cups shredded)
2 (15-ounce) cans low-sodium white beans, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¹/₄ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Toss squash with 1 tablespoon oil, ¹/₂ teaspoon of the salt and cumin. Place in single, uncrowded layer on baking sheet and roast until squash is fork-tender, 20 to 24 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium high. Add onion and ¹/₄ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very soft and browned, 15 to 17 minutes.
4. Cook pasta in plenty of lightly salted boiling water according to package directions. Three to 4 minutes before it is finished cooking, add the chard to the pot. Just before draining, add the beans.
5. Toss pasta with the lemon juice, remaining ¹/₄ teaspoon salt and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss with the squash, caramelized onions and Parmesan. Makes 6 servings.


Nutritional analysis for each serving: 446 calories, 19 g protein, 68 g carbohydrate, 15 g fiber, 12 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 3 mg cholesterol, 859 mg sodium, 242 mg calcium

Looking To August

A post to acknowledge how quiet the blog's been in July... Generally my goal is to post at least twice a week, but I have been falling far short of that this summer. A combination of being exhausted by computers, renovating part of my house (something I thought I would blog about, and still think I will), and feeling a bit under the weather. I resolve that I will get back on the horse in August. One post a week will be the goal. And they'll be good ones. I promise. So don't abandon ship!

In Sickness And In Health

Yesterday I spent part of my day gazing up at images of my very own organs, peeking in on them as they dutifully played their part in keeping me alive and in good health for one more day. 

Wow. 

It really got me thinking about how utterly dependent I am on my physical body, and how completely I take that fact for granted, and how that definitely stems from my desire, as a human being, to ignore the fragility of my existence, and the fact that it will one day come to an end.

It really puts things in perspective. 

Today I give thanks for being alive, coherent, healthy, mobile, independent, and loved. I feel lucky. 

Cross Country Skiing Is Not For Everyone...

But it's worth finding out if it appeals to you. I've never been downhill skiing, but I know that for people who have, cross country skiing doesn't have much appeal. It's a lot of hemming and hawing until you get the smooth, NordicTrack motion down, (if you ever get the smooth, NordicTrack motion down) but I like it because you can explore the woods while working muscle groups you didn't know you had. 

My uncle took us over to the University of Maine fitness center, where you can rent skis, poles, and boots for $5 with a University ID. Even if you don't fraternize with the Black Bears, you can still rent skis, but it'll cost you $11. I know what you're thinking: it's steep up here in Maine.

Once you get outfitted, there are miles of lovely trails through the woods on campus for your skiing pleasure. Lots of trees, snow, and the occasional skate skier. No moose, unfortunately. Did you know they don't come when you call? It all starts to look the same, but it's beautiful, especially if you are from New Jersey.

This was only my second try at this sport, and the first for Mr. SevPrez. He is naturally athletic, so it only took him about twenty minutes to really get in the groove. Still, we fell a lot. I am a poor turner, and I especially can't turn after picking up downhill speed. The reasons for Mr. SevPrez's spills were less predictable. But we were both able to get up without assistance. The first time I went, 12 years ago, I needed a large brother to come over, stand on my skis, and pick me up. Well, I'm a big girl now, and I was able to get up by myself after I took a few minutes to stop belly laughing and compose myself.  I really enjoyed my time down in the snow, though. This is the view.

All in all, it was a great time, and my uncle was very patient with us. Every once in a while he'd disappear around a bend, and without fail, a couple minutes later he'd reappear, gliding towards us to come deliver some helpful tips or reassurance. 

He is one of those naturally talented people who plays every sport and most intruments, cooks well, is conversant on the most important topics of our day, but is also a Buddhist, so he doesn't get all riled up about his opinions, like some people I know... I mean, like me. This is a long way of saying that not only is he an excellent ski guide, he's an amazing person to be around. The kind of person you'd drive eight hours North to visit. In March. 

Chariots Afire

First breakthrough of the year: while dusting my husband on the way back from a run on New Year's Day (What's that? He's one-kneed you say? I say I take no prisoners, and no excuses) I realized that it has actually been a solid year of running for me. No injuries, no lazy spells. That sounds like a good base to me. I'm healthy, I'm pretty fit, and I'm ready for a purpose again, so I'm going to do the New Jersey Half Marathon in May. 

The best part about the Jersey Half? No motels, no travel time, home field advantage, and the 12th man. 

It's been awhile since I've taken on a half, my favorite of all distances, and in the mean time, my dad has been breaking the sound barrier in all sorts of races, including two marathons. He'll be joining me on May 3rd, and I'm sure he'll finish about 20 minutes faster than me. I should mention that he is 30 years older than me... At least I have good genes.

I have finally abandoned Coach Hal Higdon, and am going with this program from Runner's World. I even made my own color coded spread sheet and everything. 

Are there any other takers? I think 3 runners = team t-shirts...

Resolving To Be Up to Something

On Monday my brother did me the favor of asking me what I will be up to in 2009. What a nice way to put it. New Year's Resolutions don't inspire me much. Don't they just sound like things that are born on January 1 and are meant to die sometime before mid-February?  And why rely on the New Year to resolve to do something that you've either always wanted or never wanted to do?

Excited to answer my brother, I followed his lead and listed my priorities for the new year. All of these things are currently in my life, but I eagerly look forward to working towards new and exciting developments in each area.

• Inner Peace
  
• Health (Going to the dentist and the dermatoligst, taking a multivitamin, keeping up with the exercising: maybe this is where I am hiding my resolutions...)
• My Marriage
• Family
• Laughing
• Blogging! (Writing, Photographing, Crafting, Baking, Cooking, Racing, Designing)
• Being a Sophisticated Lady

I intend to refer to this list both when I'm on a roll and when I'm in a rut. 

While thinking up this big list, I let my mind race around until it got to the Department of Wildest Dreams. One of my wildest dreams in life is to have my own platform to reach a lot of people. This is probably why I get so excited about this blog, and why I so want it to grow. But what if I had a TV show? That'd be big. Then I looked at my 2009 list and saw it all materialize: If I am on TV I will have to be a svelte, sophisticated lady, with good skin and teeth, a sharp wit, great composure, and a strong support system to get me through the tough shooting schedule. See how it all fits together? Like Magic.

So, lovely readers, what's out there for you in 2009? Or, as the late great Mary Oliver put it, "Tell me, what is is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Happy New Year to all!