Monday, October 03, 2011

MMMMmmm Crockpot Garlic Chicken

Experimented in cooking today....
4 lbs chicken breasts
1 large onion sliced
Bunch (10 very pungent) garlic cloves roughly chopped

Salt, pepper, olive oil

Put sliced onion on bottom of large crock pot
Rinse chicken, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic
Put chicken on onion, do not add any more liquid

Put crock pot on low heat for 7 or so hours

Garlic chicken just falls apart in yummy chunks.

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Lucky - part 1

January 27, 2011


Lucky, that’s what I am.

The morning started per usual. I finished my sun salutations (yoga sequence) and then decided to do every pose/stretch that I am capable of doing to work my legs.  I then finished prepping for my day. Feeling good I stepped out my doorway in my sturdy Doc Marten shoes and headed out for the day.  Well, that was the plan. I stepped one stair down on my front staircase and ZOOOOOOM.  I tried to scream because of the pain, but only squawks emerged. I finally called Nick’s name. I knew he was, moments earlier closing the door behind me.  I then gently grasped my right leg and moved it so that it was parallel to my outstretched left leg.

Nick brought the little chair that I keep on the front porch to me and I propped my injured leg on it.  I had twisted it and could feel the bones clicking. Surprisingly the endorphins managed to keep me calm. Nick called 911 and we waited for the ambulance.  They arrived and awkwardly splinted my leg onto the challenge of getting me on the gurney. Luckily I have been doing yoga for awhile. I picked up my damaged right leg and set it over to the right on the gurney then the big guys helped me to stand on my left leg and voila, I was ambulance ready.

Two blocks later, I was at the hospital. They immediately brought me into the emergency room where the nurse/assistant looked at me and said, how are we going to do this…  They needed to move me to the other bed.  One of the paramedics beamed at the assistant and said, “watch this” and I redid the move the leg then the body maneuver.  Flexibility, it is my friend. I was promptly offered pain meds via IV. But I HATE needles so declined. The endorphins were still flowing and I get weirdly calm in a crisis.  I did accept a couple of pain pills though. 

Nick arrived just after I had transferred to the other bed. Luckily he was home with nowhere else to go. He stayed with me through the xray and diagnostic processes.  Several times I had to decline the liquid pain meds they wanted to IV me with.  I was then informed that the break in my fibula was up near my knee and a minor issue. The problem was with my ankle. Frankly, they seemed desperate to IV me but NO WAY. I was then told by the emergency room orthopedic doctor that I had ruined all the soft tissue and it had twisted over to the wrong side of my ankle. He was going to have to manually push it back into place.  I said okay and started my yoga breathing.

Several nurses and assistants stood around my bed.  I think they thought they would have to hold me down. In any case, I was lucky enough to know how to cope. He said ready, I breathed and he moved the ankle, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and tissues… Weirdly it felt kinda great like things were back where they belonged. I continued to breath and he continued to manipulate my ankle and voila it was over.  The doctor then said to the staff “I need to have her come in and work with my patients.” This was sweet of him to say. It was also the last time I allowed anyone to touch my ankle for weeks.

They then put a hard cast up the back of my leg and wrapped it in layers of ace bandage and sent me home. I had an appointment for several days hence with a new orthopedist who would manage my continued care.  Before leaving I was informed that I’d probably need surgery and wouldn’t be well for 10-14 weeks, lucky me (yes that one is sarcasm).

Addendum. I was very lucky to have worked out that morning. The fall should have mangled more of my legs and groin but the stretching worked and I didn't suffer from other damage.   The Doc Martens were not my friend. They are good at sticking so instead of sliding with the rest of my body, that right foot stayed put and got mangled.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Andrew Weil, M.D. - Fat Facts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvcK6A-yEoQ This is a video about how fat is not in fact making us fat. Take a look.

Fortunately Vulnerable aka How to Be Happy

This video is very powerful, funny, and eye opening. Take a look!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o It's 20 minutes and well worth your time.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Plans for the New Year?

I try not to make any real resolutions though I do have some plans worked out. 

1. Try to read more books, more spread out instead of clumped together.  I missed my target of 2 books per week last year by 8 books.  In the end I decided I wanted to spend the holidays with friends and family (and writing) instead of just buried in a book, no matter how delightful.  Oh, 2 books at 52 weeks = 104 books, this year I'm going to make it.  I just need to find a balance between novel speed binges and nonfiction slowness. - READ/LEARN

2. Trite, I know, but relose the weight I've gained over the past 2 years. It crept up on me and the six weeks of broken foot didn't help.  Any weight lost beyond that is just gravy (*snicker*). I've been doing yoga in the morning for a few weeks and expect that to continue, and I'm back on my treadmill. - TAKE CARE OF BODY

3. Write more.  Maybe the writing raven fairy can inspire me.  - CREATE

4. Remember to breathe, remember that I like people and doing things, remember to let go of control ... - RELAX

Really, all 4 of these in one form or another are constant activities/goals and not just once a year things. 

As for other kinds of plans... 

I'll be going
  • Boise in January to attend the ILA board meeting
  • Boise in October for ILA conference
  • Spokane in August, I'm hoping to present with Karen at the PNLA conference there
  • Yellowstone a couple more times in order to make that parks pass worth it's while
  • Rock hunting/camping in the Tahoe region for Summer Solstice
  • ??? depending on where Nick is
I'm sure there are going to be other adventures. I can't help myself.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Christmas/Holiday Activities: Part 2

Image: Emailed Greeting card from my Alma Mater.  Though it was the College of Arts and Sciences when I graduated with my history degree.

23rd – Thursday - Christmas Eve Eve party in Utah

Bringing
• Cheeseballs & crackers
• Devilled eggs
• Mostacholi
• Presents for kids, Salt scrubs for women

I ended up not getting presents for the kids. I didn't know how old Glen's kids were so I just bagged the idea altogether. We left around noon and arrived right at 2:00. We'd have been early if the fog hadn't slowed us down. Dinner was great and it was good to talk to the fam. Sam may be leery of dogs, but Tom sure wasn't he followed Barkley around and around and around. Nick had bathed him the night before and had fluffed the poodle into one big puffball. He is irresistible. When Tom wasn't following the dog, the dog was following the kid. He knew Barkley sat for us on command, but his high pitched voice didn't register as a command with the dog, who ignored him. I read many chapters of the Harry Dresden book 'Small Favor' on the way down and back. The feasting was good, the conversation awesome. I'm hoping we can do this one again.
Attendees: Aunt Susan and Harry; Glen, Nicole, and their kids Zach and Abigail; David, Jen and their kids Amy, Aubrey, Sam, Tom and Jen's mom.

24th – Friday - Christmas at home with family
In the end Rebecca and Hannah went to Texas so it hardly seems like it counts for a social activity since it was just the three of us. We kept it low key but had a great time.

25th – Saturday- Christmas at home with family

Menus
BREAKFAST
• Homemade bread (machine)
NOT • Sourdough bread
NOT • Boiled eggs
NOT • Tomatoes
NOT • Cucumbers
NOT • Cheeses: Havarti, Swiss ...

Simplify, simplify, simplify became our motto so a simple breakfast of eggs and homemade bread worked great for brunch. We decided to SLEEP in.

LUNCH
NOT • Veggie tray

DINNER
• Persian chicken and rice stuffing
NOT • Dolmathes
NOT • Greek olives
• Pita bread
• Swiss chard ala Nick
• Greek Salad
NOT • Tiropitakia
NOT • Baklava

The simplify motto came into play for dinner too. We're going to bring the baklava and tiropitakia to New Year party instead. Christmas was awesome, we sat on the sofa's and opened presents and laughed and enjoyed each other's company. I got the cutest fairies EVER, and a movie I had been dying to see (The Expendables). Shanna snagged a cloak and Nick got a new GPS along with a stocking full of mini-bar items. We also received many other wonderful gifts such as the bird book from Melinda, hand crocheted scaves & hats, clothes, kitchen stuff...

26th – Sunday - Breakfast with Annie
Shanna and I met up with Annie at Elmer's where we had a great breakfast and talked and talked and talked. Nick had pain in his back so he stayed home and worked on thesis.

29th - Wednesday - Visit from Sarah & Lance Bitter
Weird. It was weird seeing Lance again after 30 some years. Seeing him in the context of him marrying my sister was even weirder. I'm sure it'll get more normal as we see each other more often, and I am very happy for her. He is a nice guy and she deserves nice, funny, kind. They're great together, it's just weird.

27th – 30th Mon-Thu (South Family xmas Party)
(NOT) The South family party never got off the ground. We're all just too busy at this time of year. I think that next year I may suggest moving it to November, cause after Xmas just didn't work.

31st – Friday New Years Eve party
Nick is making roast lamb and chicken with olives. Shanna and I are making baklava and tiropitakia. Dinner should be awesome...

And it was, other people brought greek salad, hummus and pita chips, stuffed saffron rice, rum soaked fruited couscous. We were joined by Nancy & Dan, Janet, Heather & Duo, and of course Maura & Jim - it was their house after all. We sat and ate and talked and laughed and talked and laughed and Jim shared some of his alcohol from foreign countries and we laughed and talked some more. We started toasting the new year at 10:00, it was the new year in New York, and then at 11 for Chicago ... I just wish we'd started the silly idea earlier in the evening. We never got to the movies though we did manage to stay up till midnight.