Monday, February 4, 2008

SUPER BOWL is done.

OK, the Giants won the superbowl. Do I care? Not really but dear hubby was on the couch most of yesterday; the pre-game, the almost-game, the nearly-game and finally, the game. All the early hours were for nothing as I understand the last forty-seconds decided the outcome. Still he believes that justice prevailed, there is a God and that all is right with the world, for now.

What did I do? I started on Friday making a winter barley salad with cranberries and feta cheese; intended as the main course for Friday's dinner and the first course for Sunday's dinner.
Saturday we attended a Mardi Gras dinner dance at a local club and I am sorry to report that the music was great and the food was not. The gumbo was starchy and thick with few ingredients resembling gumbo. Still we got a dance-workout, came home to an Espresso Martini and then fell asleep.

Sunday after the morning weight-workout at the gym, it was time to prepare the Moroccan-Inspired Roasted Squash Soup, courtesty of The Splendid Table's weekly E-newsletter. The soup, I am happy to report, was fabulous. Thank you Lynne.

Next up - four Cornish Game Hens; two to be halved and cooked with an apricot glaze. This recipe found in Dining with the Duchess, the Weight Watcher's 1998 published book with Sarah Ferguson. No, of course I did not buy it then, found it recently in a used book shop for $2. Some of the recipes are familiar as I have been a W.W. near d' well for decades.

The second pair of hens were stuffed with a combination of a bown rice mix (a la Trader's Joes), dried cherries, whole wheat berries and black seasame seeds. Placed in a large baking dish, surrounded with more of the rice-grain mix and baby carrots. This to keep me in food for the coming week as I have a full schedule beginning Wednesday and throughout the weekend.

After dinner I got to clean up the kitchen, as the game was just beginning. For my evening fun I had a Netflix of "Dream Girls," which I had long wanted to see. Did I tell you that the gym-dance teacher is using a Dream Girls routine from the film for our current dance workout? I watched the "Move On, Move On," routine with interest as I knew the beginning but somehow the movie choreography was modified from the routine learned in class. This is what I've come to in my old age: dancing in my underwear and lip-sync-ing "move on, move on out of my life' to a DVD, while dear hubby is at the other end of the house yelling "run, run you idots!" Can we be the only house in America with such activities? I think not. There is a good reason why Super Bowl Sunday comes just once a year.

Somehow the February calendar is fully loaded before you realize the jam. Most days are comfortable weather-wise and so organizations are going full throttle. In addition to the ballroom dance classes on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon; there is the Arts Center Swing class on Wednesday evening; the dance-practice session at JRC at noon Thursday; dh has a meeting Thursday evening (Valentine's Day), so we are celebrating Friday with my Grand Mariner Souffle, going to a NC Jazz Repetory Band concert on Saturday and celebrating Chinese New Year with friends on Sunday. Check out the Merlion site for their Saturday celebration, which we will miss.

IF I live I hope to be back on the disciplined nutrition after that. Is it any wonder that sustaining diet discipline is so hard? My latest investigation is Julia Cameron's The Writing Diet: Write Yourself to the Right-Size. Long acquainted with her Artist's Way books (I once led a twelve-week class), and an on-again-off-again Morning Pages writer, here I go again. Still, if applying the Morning Pages, a Food Journal and the 12-step process to losing weight, I will do it. At this point I am only up to the Second Tool but have done 'pages' for several days. Again.

Todays project: knotting a string of pearls. Another thrift-shop find, an eighteen-inch string of 15 mm pearl (fake), good size, heavy and with a very nice clasp. Second time I wore them the cord broke near the clasp. Bummer. The only way to fix the necklace is to re-knot the whole strand. Since I have not done this with any regularity for about five years, some time was spent just finding my tools, the right color cord, a bottle of Gum Arabic and at last, knotting. My fingers are not as nimble as I wished but I finally got half the strand done before the daylight began to fade. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon will allow me to conclude the pearls and knot-off the closure.

These little, unexpected jobs are thrown in my path just to let me know I cannot spend too much time searching the Internet. Remember the world is spinning at about 1000 miles per hour and there is no telling what might blow into your path. Be mindful and industrious and whatever you do - 'don't look back.'
bb

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