Free Your Mind Friday

Roses and Thorns is on hold this week because Summer asked me to answer these questions posed by Mel at Waking in Wonderland. Feel free to join in!

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

I'd be 22, and a lot of people guess I'm around that age when they first meet me! I'm too old to still be drinking the "I just turned 21 Smirnoff Ices;" I've moved on to more sophisticated beverages. Yet, I'm still young enough to balls against the wall party all night long. I crave a sexy social scene, new people and music I can groove to. I'm pretty opposed to working, and I don't know what I want out of my career yet. I do know I don't want to feel like I'm going to work every day. I want to see the world. I crave independence, but I still like to be able to go home to Mom and Dad. Oh yeah, and I love that "I've got butterflies" in love feeling.

Which is worse, failing or never trying?

Never trying. I tell people that I will do pretty much anything once. That doesn't mean I'll do it again or even enjoy it, but I'm willing to give it a try so that I can say with confidence that I hate it or love it.

If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

I think we're all in a certain state of denial. I don't think we recognize any immediacy or urgency in our physical lives. We all have things we enjoy and want to do, and jobs that we spend too much time doing, so we tell ourselves, "One more year and I'll start looking for a job I enjoy," or "I'll have time this weekend for that hiking I want to do," or "I'll get to tour Europe once I'm married." We don't recognize that the time may never come.

That was fun and insightful, wasn't it? 

By the way, I wanted to mention that today is Jed's 29th birthday (he's such an old man, isn't he? I shouldn't talk, I'm right behind him)! I think I got him the best gift I've ever given him, and I'm really excited. I hope he likes it! Tonight, we're going out to dinner with his parents, then tomorrow night, we're heading to the local casino to party with his college friends and their husbands. Happy birthday, honey, I love you!

Writer's Workshop: Kitchen Uh-Oh

I've been meaning to catch you all up on my culinary adventures in the kitchen, but I am way behind. And, on top of that, I've been making some scrumptuous new recipes, but I forgot to take pictures! So sorry fellow chefs.

Before I get into the pictures and recipes, however, I'd like to share a little story with you of a not-so-successful incident...

I am not known for my proficiency in the kitchen -- quite the opposite actually -- but I have been trying to teach myself, trying new recipes and my Mom's classics every week. My best friend is in shock wondering where this domestic goddess appeared from.

One night, I was making a new pasta dish that had a lot of components but was pretty basic. Towards the end of all the pasta elements cook time, I threw some garlic toast in the oven with one of the components. {Side note: I may be able to cook, but I'm still trying to get the hang of that elusive timing.} The timer goes off, and the ingredients cooking in the oven are done, but my garlic bread is not.

I decided to speed things along by leaving the toast in the oven on broil. I started mixing all the components with the pasta, and I got so distracted by plating my new dish, I forgot all about the broiling bread. I only remembered when I smelled the dreaded scent of smoke, only to glance in the oven and see two rather significant flames on the oven rack where my two pieces of garlic toast were!

Jed was in the living room watching TV when he was disrupted by me screaming, "There's a fire in the oven!" He came running into the kitchen telling me, "That's not what I want to hear!" I was in a complete panic and was about to grab the fire extinguisher to re-enact the scene from The Santa Clause when Tim Allen extinguishes the Christmas turkey when I decided to just shut the oven off, leave the door closed and see what happened. The flames extinguished themselves in a minute, and I was left with two pitifully black pieces of Texas Toast.

Oh well, the pasta was amazing, and Jed popped two more pieces of garlic bread in the toaster oven. And, I will have that shocking image of two flames in my oven to savor forever. For the record, Jed had smelled the burning five minutes before I screamed, but he figured I had it under control. Yeah right, I'm the distracted chef!

I have had many successes though. Here are just a few of them from the past two months; you can click the name of the dish to visit the recipe.

Chicken with spinach and mushrooms

Pork chops with mustard sauce and glazed carrots

Mushroom chicken (one of my fav dishes Mom made)

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless chicken breasts (I use the thin breasts)

1 stick butter (I didn't say this one was healthy, but it is good!)

1/4-1/2 lb. mushrooms

1/3 cup flour

1 can chicken broth

¼ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. light cream

Instructions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 6 tbsp. butter. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove chicken when done. Add 2 tbsp. butter, sauté mushrooms. Remove mushrooms when done. Add flour and salt, blend until smooth. Gradually stir in chicken broth, and then add cream. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. Add chicken and mushrooms back in, reduce heat and simmer covered for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve over rice.

This post was inspired by:


Prompt #5: Where was the recipe? Tell the story of a mistake made in the kitchen.

Roses and Thorns

Whoa, 60 subscribers! I've noticed that 59 number has been sticking around for quite a while, and I like round numbers, so thank you to #60 for joining! Welcome! 

Now, some sad news... Kristen of K.Law: Inspired, where I got the inspiration for this post, has discontinued blogging at Inspired. *tear* I'm going to miss her insanely, but I'm continue the Friday tradition in her honor.

Roses to the girls' night out slated for Saturday night! I'm hitting up the city with the girlfriends of Jed's two former roommates. The six of us practically lived together for a year, so I miss these ladies like nothing else. I'm super excited to hang out with them!

Roses to this fabulously warm weather we've been having this week. Um, it hit 90 degrees on Wednesday!

Roses to In It to Gym It, courtesy of Miss LiLu. These ladies have been seriously motivating me to get my a$$ in gear!

Roses to some serious inspiration this week.

Roses to one of my longest-time friends having a baby boy on Easter Sunday! Congratulations to her and her husband.

Roses to figuring out the best birthday present for Jed.

Roses to not having to go grocery shopping this week.

Thorns to Dad being in the hospital.

Thorns to nasty commutes to work this week with mazes of traffic everywhere.

Thorns to being stuck in an office during the fabulously nice weather this week.

Thorns to not having plans tonight, even though I really wanted to and tried to make them.

Thorns to K.Law retiring the Inspired.

And, since I didn't post this last week, thorns to getting water in the basement last week. Yuck!

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a fun weekend.

It's time for a revolution!

weheartit

A revolution is brewing within me. Change is on the horizon. I can’t see it, but I can feel it. I am anticipating it with butterflies in my stomach and a tornado of thoughts in my mind.

I have been inspired – by so many of you. Over the past few weeks, you have made me think, gave me reason to want more, brought me to the realization that my life could be more fulfilling. I have a myriad of interests and passions in which I am suddenly seeing endless opportunities. I became restless, and I no longer want to sit still and watch life pass me by.

There will be no drastic changes; I condone baby steps. One foot in front of the other, one day at a time. I am not quitting my day job. I am not jumping head-first into the freelance ocean. I am going to start walking barefoot more and questioning whether life really has to be lived for the weekends. I am going to fill my weekdays, with pursuits that thrill me to no end, so I can live for every day.

A revolution has been brewing within me for a few weeks now. The first battle cry was sounded today.

Wishful Wednesday: Diet

I wish .... I had the willpower to 

stay on one particular diet, 

and it would be the all-natural diet!


I have never "gone on a diet" in the Atkins or South Beach sense. In fact, the only "diet" I've ever gone on was after my freshman year of college when I decided I needed to lose the weight I gained, and I ate nothing but salad for lunch all summer. I lost the 20 pounds I gained!


At this point, I'm about 10 pounds heavier than I would like to be, and I'm trying to figure out what to eat to make those pounds go away! I'm also attempting to eat "real food" after seeing Food, Inc. a couple weeks ago. 


So, I'm trying to stick to a more organic diet and cut out junk foods. Ha! Right as I decide this, all I am craving is fried food -- although fried veggies are in there too!


I've heard people just feel and look better once they cut out all the artificial crap in their food. I'm looking forward to seeing what that feels like.


How about you? Any crazy (or not-so-crazy) diets? Make sure to visit Kelsey's blog (click on the button above) and link up if you're talking about it on your blog!

Tuesday Thanks

Short and sweet today. I'm sleepy.

1. Speaking of sleepy, I am really enjoying my sheets on my bed right now. I finally stripped the bed of the flannel sheets and replaced them with my high-thread-count cotton sheets, which have been so cool, light and silky. A tiny piece of heaven really.

2. I'm not going to lie, it really sucks that my dad is in the hospital again. Really. Sucks. Yet, I can be grateful that he is in one of the best hospitals around and in the best care. Every nurse I have met looking after him has been intelligent, thoughtful, kind, empathetic and friendly. So, a huge shout out to the B.I.D. transplant nursing staff!

3. Gym time! I finally get to sign up for a gym membership, and I plan on visiting the two gyms closest to me -- offering unlimited classes as well -- this week. I can't wait to get back to my cardio, strength and stretch workouts! I'm happy there is room in the budget.

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

Friend-Making Monday: Easter

::Favorite things about Easter::

 {Tell us about your Easter experience}

First of all, I hope you all had a blessed Easter with your family and friends -- if you celebrate the holiday.

Second, if you'd like to play along, click the button above to visit Amber's blog for the topic and to link up your post.

This Easter was the most unconventional Easter I have ever had. I knew going in that it was going to be different for a couple reasons: 1.) I'm living in my own house, so there would be no colored eggs and no Easter baskets (yes, my Mom still did that and hid the eggs for me and my sister, both in our twenties), and 2.) I had plans to have dinner with Jed's family instead of my own, then we were going to have dessert with my family.

Friday, Easter became a little more unconventional when my mother called me to tell me that my father is in the hospital again; he is rejecting the kidney again, and he has blood clots all over his kidney (my father had a transplant in August, and he was in the hospital in October for possible rejection as well -- read about it here, here and here). Needless to say, Easter was not going to be as simple as dinner with Jed's family then going to my aunt's for dessert with my family.

The day started by meeting Jed's parents, grandfather, aunt, uncle and cousin at the restaurant at noon for lunch/dinner. It was pretty good; the atmosphere was different with Jed's father also MIA with a bad cold. After lunch, we went home to take Morris for a walk before heading to my grandmother's house to say hello. We were only there for an hour before we had to leave to head into Boston to see my dad in the hospital. We spent about two hours with him, then we went to my aunt's for dessert with my mother and sister. I'm glad I missed dinner with my family because my sister said it was depressing, and my mother said it was awkward since so many people were missing: my grandmother died a year and a half ago, my cousin moved to Florida two years ago and didn't come home for Easter, two of my other cousins were celebrating elsewhere, and my dad was in the hospital.

Despite having to be in four places, it was wonderful to spend the day with all of the people I love, and I was grateful I was able to see everyone.

Other than Easter, it was a good weekend; the weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect: sunny and in the 70's! I spent Saturday afternoon outside staining/painting our outdoor wood table. I even got a sunburn! Yeah, that's both good and bad. Even better, the weather is supposed to stick around for at least most of the week, with rumors of 80 degrees on Wednesday! Spring has sprung in New England, people!