...and in the Healthy Eating category...or at least the trying-to-cook-healthy-food-from-scratch category, here's my chicken creation from a few nights ago, which made great leftovers for work-lunches. I always go overboard on olive oil and never use enough salt, but at least I call them by their names and not my own silly abbreviations (ahem, miss Ray, just chill with your A.D.D.-style cuisine...it's been called Olive Oil for thousands of years and I don't think we need to go changing it now.) ;)
Baked Chicken with Veggies and Herbs. (Because it has chicken. and veggies. and herbs.)
2 med. to lg. onions
two green peppers
approx. 10-12 roma tomatoes (less juicy and easier to dice)
fresh thyme, oregano, basil (i used about 3 T. of each FRESH herb - 1.5 T. for each layer; you can use less if you're using dried)
salt
pepper
olive oil
chicken (i used 3 leg/thigh pieces; or 3 boneless breasts)
grated parm (i like the fresher grated stuff in the jar, not the powdery kind)
rice
preheat oven to 400. dice vegetables. grease cassarole dish with thin coating of olive oil. layer 1/2 of the diced onions, peppers, and tomatoes on bottom of dish. sprinkle generously with fresh chopped thyme, oregano and basil (or use dried if you absolutely have to! ;) ) sprinkle with salt and pepper.
next, place chicken pieces on top of veggies. brush lightly with olive oil; salt and pepper. now layer the rest of the diced veggies on top of the chicken, sprinkle again with lots of fresh herbs and salt/pepper. drizzle the whole thing with olive oil (i tend to use way more than is necessary, you might just like a light sprinkle of it...)
sprinkle with just a small amt of parm cheese if desired.
bake uncovered for 1 hr. or until chicken is done and juices run clear (probably less time if you're using boneless chicken). serve w/ steamed rice.
What I think made this extra yummy is the tomatoes and herbs straight from my garden, the peppers and onions from the farmer's market, and the simplicity of it all. Less can be more in life and cooking. ;-)
9.19.2007
Insomnia
So I've been having trouble falling asleep (and staying asleep) for the past week and a half, and it's been getting annoying. I lie down and no matter how tired I am, my mind is racing. Everyone says I must be stressed, and maybe so, but a lot of the things that had been stressing me out have passed. Still, I have to say that it's been funny, all the thoughts that pass through my head as I'm trying to fall asleep. Maybe I just need a notebook by my bed, except that all the ideas are so completely random, it would be hard to find any consistency in it. And the crazy dreams! At the worst, they're of me arguing with people or being annoyed at their invasion of my privacy. At the best, they're like two mornings ago, when I dreamed I had a big farm field where I owned one big, fat, prizewinning pig, who continually got out of the field by squeezing himself through the wires of the electric fencing (that part of the dream was entertaining; the end of it was a bit more disturbing, and completely unrelated to the pig). Once I do fall asleep, or when I'm in that wake-sleep limbo, it's like some weird creative side of my brain decides it's time for ideas. I'll compose songs in my head - lyrics and music and all. Of course, I forget them in the morning. I'll have entire conversations with people in dreams, as if I'm writing or reading some sort of movie script. I'll think of strange stories, almost like dreaming but more like narrating.
You think I'm nuts. Just WAIT.
This is the little snippet of a story I came up with when falling asleep last night. The only reason I remember it is because I really was in that limbo state, and "woke up" enough to remember what I'd been thinking...like remembering a dream, I guess. This would be a kickass story if I had the rest of it hidden in my brain somewhere. And I'm not kidding - the title was the first thing that popped into my brain, and the rest of the paragraph followed:
"Parasitic Advancements Towards the Moon: A Love Story
The world had reached 2011 A.D. by the time Marcus realized that he had lost all hope. Of course, all the changes they'd predicted had occured to some extent, but they weren't half bad. Sure, the oceans rose, but engineers just destroyed, lifted or moved the buildings that were most at risk. Waterfront property was as sought after as ever. The flu pandemic had been spread through schoolchildren worldwide, but was quickly brought under control with the discovery of a vaccine that significantly reduced one's vulnerability to viruses. This was also good news for the population rebound, since it helped offset the loss of 19 million people in the great Volcano-Earthquake-Tsunami triple-whammy that the planet dished out in January of 2009. By the time Marcus reached thirty-two and he'd lost all hope, the world was as secure a place as it had ever been. Poor Marcus - if only he'd gotten to the moon as he'd planned."
The only way you can read this is as if it's the first paragraph of a novel. I actually know where half of this is coming from - inspired by the book I'm trying to finish, My Ishmael, where the chapter deals with space travel and finding/studying/establishing other cultures. I know where it's going, too - grown out of the idea that humans are parasites, taking over things as we do. It might continue on as a story about this dude and his dashed hopes of becoming as successful a parasite as anyone else, by finally taking part in populating the moon, with a little bit of a love story thrown in for shits and giggles. ;-) And the detail that went into this composition isn't just the description itself - this was well planned! Why did the flu pandemic spread through schoolchildren? Well, because of their horrible hygeine, of course. I pictured snotty kids blowing their noses in their sleeves and wiping their hands across everything. I was sure that this would result in many deaths, so I had to include a way out and give us a prevention for most viruses - which convenienly allowed me to justify the deaths of 19 million others from some exciting natural disasters. I pictured the volcano-earthquake-tsunami disaster wiping out a huge swath of land between - get this - Baja California and southern Florida. (Sure, there might not be 19 million people there, but gimme a break - I had no time for research! ;) ) I pictured huge skyscrapers in coastal cities suddenly having their first 10 floors completely submerged by the ocean, but somehow we'd found a way to just use the rest of the building anyway, make a few new entrances, build a couple walkways or cart everyone out in a ferry, and up the rent for the 360 degree waterfront view. On top of all this, the dates and times and ages were all what first popped into my head - so don't go dreading January '09, I'm certain I'm not psychic. ;-) All this goes on while our poor protaganist Marcus sits idly in his office, feeling bad for himself that he didn't make it aboard on the first public relocations to the Moon. (Maybe this was all about feeling like you should be more personally satisfied with the things you choose do with your life, instead of sitting idly by in your office while everyone else has their adventures.)
I'm telling you...this is the crap that keeps me awake at night.
So I don't know what to do about this sleeping business, but writing more seems like a good idea. It's not something I do consistently anymore, but I need it just to get things off my mind. Or, I need to write the next great American Science Fiction novel, whichever comes first. (Shit, that damn NaNoWriMo I am remembering now...I wish I had it in me, but I've always been more of a short-story person. I suppose that's just as good. :) ) At least it makes for a funny blog, and gives me something to be creative at for an hour out of my day.
I'm not really sure that anything else is going to happen to Marcus, but he'll probably end up in unfinished storyland forever. :) And in the meantime my friends, I'm getting another cup of coffee.
You think I'm nuts. Just WAIT.
This is the little snippet of a story I came up with when falling asleep last night. The only reason I remember it is because I really was in that limbo state, and "woke up" enough to remember what I'd been thinking...like remembering a dream, I guess. This would be a kickass story if I had the rest of it hidden in my brain somewhere. And I'm not kidding - the title was the first thing that popped into my brain, and the rest of the paragraph followed:
"Parasitic Advancements Towards the Moon: A Love Story
The world had reached 2011 A.D. by the time Marcus realized that he had lost all hope. Of course, all the changes they'd predicted had occured to some extent, but they weren't half bad. Sure, the oceans rose, but engineers just destroyed, lifted or moved the buildings that were most at risk. Waterfront property was as sought after as ever. The flu pandemic had been spread through schoolchildren worldwide, but was quickly brought under control with the discovery of a vaccine that significantly reduced one's vulnerability to viruses. This was also good news for the population rebound, since it helped offset the loss of 19 million people in the great Volcano-Earthquake-Tsunami triple-whammy that the planet dished out in January of 2009. By the time Marcus reached thirty-two and he'd lost all hope, the world was as secure a place as it had ever been. Poor Marcus - if only he'd gotten to the moon as he'd planned."
The only way you can read this is as if it's the first paragraph of a novel. I actually know where half of this is coming from - inspired by the book I'm trying to finish, My Ishmael, where the chapter deals with space travel and finding/studying/establishing other cultures. I know where it's going, too - grown out of the idea that humans are parasites, taking over things as we do. It might continue on as a story about this dude and his dashed hopes of becoming as successful a parasite as anyone else, by finally taking part in populating the moon, with a little bit of a love story thrown in for shits and giggles. ;-) And the detail that went into this composition isn't just the description itself - this was well planned! Why did the flu pandemic spread through schoolchildren? Well, because of their horrible hygeine, of course. I pictured snotty kids blowing their noses in their sleeves and wiping their hands across everything. I was sure that this would result in many deaths, so I had to include a way out and give us a prevention for most viruses - which convenienly allowed me to justify the deaths of 19 million others from some exciting natural disasters. I pictured the volcano-earthquake-tsunami disaster wiping out a huge swath of land between - get this - Baja California and southern Florida. (Sure, there might not be 19 million people there, but gimme a break - I had no time for research! ;) ) I pictured huge skyscrapers in coastal cities suddenly having their first 10 floors completely submerged by the ocean, but somehow we'd found a way to just use the rest of the building anyway, make a few new entrances, build a couple walkways or cart everyone out in a ferry, and up the rent for the 360 degree waterfront view. On top of all this, the dates and times and ages were all what first popped into my head - so don't go dreading January '09, I'm certain I'm not psychic. ;-) All this goes on while our poor protaganist Marcus sits idly in his office, feeling bad for himself that he didn't make it aboard on the first public relocations to the Moon. (Maybe this was all about feeling like you should be more personally satisfied with the things you choose do with your life, instead of sitting idly by in your office while everyone else has their adventures.)
I'm telling you...this is the crap that keeps me awake at night.
So I don't know what to do about this sleeping business, but writing more seems like a good idea. It's not something I do consistently anymore, but I need it just to get things off my mind. Or, I need to write the next great American Science Fiction novel, whichever comes first. (Shit, that damn NaNoWriMo I am remembering now...I wish I had it in me, but I've always been more of a short-story person. I suppose that's just as good. :) ) At least it makes for a funny blog, and gives me something to be creative at for an hour out of my day.
I'm not really sure that anything else is going to happen to Marcus, but he'll probably end up in unfinished storyland forever. :) And in the meantime my friends, I'm getting another cup of coffee.
9.18.2007
Quotes and Special Days
I was looking for an appropriate quote or saying to add to the sidebar. I had one of my old poems there but I really want something new. I haven't decided yet, but I found these and love many of them...especially the one about washing the dishes. ;) (If you have a favorite, let me know...I read them all and now I just can't decide.)
Another big part of my life that changed very recently was losing my dog. I had to put him to sleep very suddenly, after having him for almost nine years. Today, September 18th, would have been his 9th birthday. :( I've gotten through it alright, but I still miss so much about him and cry about it a lot at those times when I'd most like to have him around...especially going on walks and hikes with him, and having him there when I'm home alone. I suppose my life is "simpler" without a dog now, but it's still a big part of me that's missing. Happy birthday, Chance. :)
Another big part of my life that changed very recently was losing my dog. I had to put him to sleep very suddenly, after having him for almost nine years. Today, September 18th, would have been his 9th birthday. :( I've gotten through it alright, but I still miss so much about him and cry about it a lot at those times when I'd most like to have him around...especially going on walks and hikes with him, and having him there when I'm home alone. I suppose my life is "simpler" without a dog now, but it's still a big part of me that's missing. Happy birthday, Chance. :)
Introduction
(**NOTE, 10/29/09**: This post, and all posts between 9/18/07-6/2/08, were part of a separate blog I started when I thought I'd grown tired of this one. But now I see the point of leaving it all in the same place. ;-) As you were...)
I'm not usually one to describe things in my life as "blessed", but I feel that way more and more these days. Doing so denotes a belief in someone-doing-the-blessing - and despite my mother's best efforts, I don't think my Catholic upbringing has resulted in much more than an optimistic agnosticism. I do often feel like there is "SOMETHING out there", although I think I subscribe more to a Buddhist philosophy of our own interconnectedness, than to the ruling hand of God/guilt/sin...the sour taste of which reminds me only of the many people I've met whose hypocrisy in spiritual beliefs vs. everyday actions defies justification. I am open to other opinions on the matter, and I'm certain there are good Catholics out there...
Nevertheless, this is NOT a post about God. :)
This is a post about simplicity, life, love, doing the right thing, commitment, planning for the future, personal growth, sustainability, health, and positive thinking. This is about the fact that I am cautiously optimistic about the choices I've made in the past two years, and the growth that has come from that.
This is also about always having something new to learn.
I am trying on a daily basis to remove the unnecessary and unimportant things from my life. A recent, big help in this effort has been found from Zen Habits, a great blog about just that - simplifying your life, and the happiness that come from that. It was only a year ago that I moved out of an apartment and thus ended a stage in my life which was NOT simple, and on that day I consciously decided that purging the clutter was the first step on a much clearer road. This applied to all sorts of clutter - physical, mental, and even the "clutter" of people whose influence was not a positive one. It's worked. I still have some "things" to get rid of, but for the most part, everything I own is something I need - and yet, I'd be happy to get rid of even more if I ever need to. It's a good feeling, not being attached to physical things. It's also convenient when you're someone who moves a lot. ;) I've also removed a lot of the people and thoughts that caused more grief and anxiety than friendship, and although my circle of friends might be very small, I feel blessed by having such good people in my life.
Honesty, truth and trust in my friendships and relationships has been the second thing I've tried to focus on in the past two years. I have never been very good at keeping in touch with people at a distance, but I've tried harder to do so. (In the "Bane of my Existence" category, the award goes to Myspace, without which I probably would not have the continuous contact to a lot of my distant friends. Without it, however, I'd probably not have wasted so much free time over the past year! I've had more success at breaking that addiction these days - but still, having a link to all those distant friends in one place has been beneficial for me and made it easier to stay in touch - you just have to ignore the stalker/drama factor that everybody gets so worked up about.)
If you do not learn from your mistakes in life, and make conscious efforts to not repeat those mistakes, then you are living that basic definition of insanity: repeating the same action over and over again and expecting different results. If you learn from your mistakes, take note of the effect they had, and commit to keeping that in your mind to affect your choices in the future, I guarantee you will be a much happier person. I feel blessed right now because I feel like I am accomplishing that. I try to remain aware of how my words or actions might affect someone else - to treat people the way I want to be treated. I am by no means perfect at any of this, but it's the daily successes at doing so that make it worthwhile. I look back on people and events of the past two years and think about how much happier I am, and I'm certain that it's been the right way to go.
I am also really blessed when it comes to my relationship right now. I almost hesitate to admit how happy I really am, because in the grand scheme of things, it might still be "new", yet I am very satisfied with everything so far. I feel so lucky, every day. I've found this great person to spend my time with, someone who I believe has been honest with me, someone who really means it when he says he loves me, someone who I trust to do the right thing. I'm humbled by it, because I have spent so much time trying to grow and mature in all these other areas of my life, and I want to be as good to him every day as he has been to me. Unlike a lot of my other past relationships, I actually know that I am treating this person the way that I want to be treated, *and* I'm getting that in return. I am happy to go off and do my own thing, and happy to see him do his own thing, too - but I am also fulfilled by supporting him in his things - and I think he wants to support me in the things I do, too. It makes me happy to be trying to work out things in my own life, and yet to also have this person who I think really appreciates me, and who, I hope, knows that I appreciate him and adore him for all we've done together so far, and for all the dreams he has, and for all the ways I think we might be able to work together as time goes on. I want him to know that he has really helped make me a better person, too. He is mature and confident in himself, and that makes a huge difference. He has had a big influence on helping me figure out the things that are most important, and I really respect him for that. He has also stood by me through some really difficult things, and I think it's those sort of tests you need to go through in a relationship that strengthen your ability to grow and continue on together.
So, this is my introduction to this blog. My commitment to writing waxes and wanes, and as personal as this post is, I'll probably end up with a lot more posts about nothing much at all! We'll see. I chose the name for two reasons: Simple, because that's how I want things to be, and Ginger, because not only is it something that I love - to eat, to smell, to drink in yummy tea or beer! - but because it IS simple. I enjoy cooking, and as with any natural ingredients, ginger is one of those strong, recognizable, simple things that is both good and good FOR you - and those are the kinds of things I want in my life:
Strong, positive, simple things that make life good on their own.
I'm not usually one to describe things in my life as "blessed", but I feel that way more and more these days. Doing so denotes a belief in someone-doing-the-blessing - and despite my mother's best efforts, I don't think my Catholic upbringing has resulted in much more than an optimistic agnosticism. I do often feel like there is "SOMETHING out there", although I think I subscribe more to a Buddhist philosophy of our own interconnectedness, than to the ruling hand of God/guilt/sin...the sour taste of which reminds me only of the many people I've met whose hypocrisy in spiritual beliefs vs. everyday actions defies justification. I am open to other opinions on the matter, and I'm certain there are good Catholics out there...
Nevertheless, this is NOT a post about God. :)
This is a post about simplicity, life, love, doing the right thing, commitment, planning for the future, personal growth, sustainability, health, and positive thinking. This is about the fact that I am cautiously optimistic about the choices I've made in the past two years, and the growth that has come from that.
This is also about always having something new to learn.
I am trying on a daily basis to remove the unnecessary and unimportant things from my life. A recent, big help in this effort has been found from Zen Habits, a great blog about just that - simplifying your life, and the happiness that come from that. It was only a year ago that I moved out of an apartment and thus ended a stage in my life which was NOT simple, and on that day I consciously decided that purging the clutter was the first step on a much clearer road. This applied to all sorts of clutter - physical, mental, and even the "clutter" of people whose influence was not a positive one. It's worked. I still have some "things" to get rid of, but for the most part, everything I own is something I need - and yet, I'd be happy to get rid of even more if I ever need to. It's a good feeling, not being attached to physical things. It's also convenient when you're someone who moves a lot. ;) I've also removed a lot of the people and thoughts that caused more grief and anxiety than friendship, and although my circle of friends might be very small, I feel blessed by having such good people in my life.
Honesty, truth and trust in my friendships and relationships has been the second thing I've tried to focus on in the past two years. I have never been very good at keeping in touch with people at a distance, but I've tried harder to do so. (In the "Bane of my Existence" category, the award goes to Myspace, without which I probably would not have the continuous contact to a lot of my distant friends. Without it, however, I'd probably not have wasted so much free time over the past year! I've had more success at breaking that addiction these days - but still, having a link to all those distant friends in one place has been beneficial for me and made it easier to stay in touch - you just have to ignore the stalker/drama factor that everybody gets so worked up about.)
If you do not learn from your mistakes in life, and make conscious efforts to not repeat those mistakes, then you are living that basic definition of insanity: repeating the same action over and over again and expecting different results. If you learn from your mistakes, take note of the effect they had, and commit to keeping that in your mind to affect your choices in the future, I guarantee you will be a much happier person. I feel blessed right now because I feel like I am accomplishing that. I try to remain aware of how my words or actions might affect someone else - to treat people the way I want to be treated. I am by no means perfect at any of this, but it's the daily successes at doing so that make it worthwhile. I look back on people and events of the past two years and think about how much happier I am, and I'm certain that it's been the right way to go.
I am also really blessed when it comes to my relationship right now. I almost hesitate to admit how happy I really am, because in the grand scheme of things, it might still be "new", yet I am very satisfied with everything so far. I feel so lucky, every day. I've found this great person to spend my time with, someone who I believe has been honest with me, someone who really means it when he says he loves me, someone who I trust to do the right thing. I'm humbled by it, because I have spent so much time trying to grow and mature in all these other areas of my life, and I want to be as good to him every day as he has been to me. Unlike a lot of my other past relationships, I actually know that I am treating this person the way that I want to be treated, *and* I'm getting that in return. I am happy to go off and do my own thing, and happy to see him do his own thing, too - but I am also fulfilled by supporting him in his things - and I think he wants to support me in the things I do, too. It makes me happy to be trying to work out things in my own life, and yet to also have this person who I think really appreciates me, and who, I hope, knows that I appreciate him and adore him for all we've done together so far, and for all the dreams he has, and for all the ways I think we might be able to work together as time goes on. I want him to know that he has really helped make me a better person, too. He is mature and confident in himself, and that makes a huge difference. He has had a big influence on helping me figure out the things that are most important, and I really respect him for that. He has also stood by me through some really difficult things, and I think it's those sort of tests you need to go through in a relationship that strengthen your ability to grow and continue on together.
So, this is my introduction to this blog. My commitment to writing waxes and wanes, and as personal as this post is, I'll probably end up with a lot more posts about nothing much at all! We'll see. I chose the name for two reasons: Simple, because that's how I want things to be, and Ginger, because not only is it something that I love - to eat, to smell, to drink in yummy tea or beer! - but because it IS simple. I enjoy cooking, and as with any natural ingredients, ginger is one of those strong, recognizable, simple things that is both good and good FOR you - and those are the kinds of things I want in my life:
Strong, positive, simple things that make life good on their own.
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