Taking the path of most resistance... one step at a time...

Well the rose has gotten even pinker... I think we are due for a really cold snap... so with that and lack of sunshine I don't think the rose is going to open... but it was nice to see the plants are thriving.

The girls are off from school this week. They will help me cook for Thanksgiving and start making some Christmas gifts... they know with my work changes that we are going to treat the holiday differently... focusing on making things and giving rather than getting.

Small Thanksgiving, but I am looking forward to cooking all the things that remind me of childhood. I know I could get creative and kick it up a notch... but that would not be tradition for me or give my girls a sense of history. Although we are going to make the stuffing in muffin tins this year. That way everyone gets crunchy and moist.

Whirlwind work trip to Jacksonville Florida. I did not even see any of it in daylight. Arrived at 4:30pm Friday and left at 5:00am Saturday morning for the airport. It was a good trip, and I hope the parents I was teaching the infusion pump felt the same.

A little work this week... but for the most part I can spend time with the kids. I have ordered more tiles for my mosaics and the finished products are turning out really well, considering I have not done it before. The hurricane I finished looks beautiful with a candle inside.

Roasting some "clearance" eggplant I got at Meijer yesterday... making some baba ganouj. Emma and Lauren like hummus, so I am hoping they like this.

My first homegrown rose... ever... I planted 3 hybrid rose bushes in the front yard. Early Fall planting. They seem to have acclimated nicely and one bush even had 2 buds on it when it arrived. I had thought with the stress of shipping and replanting that they would just fall off.

Nope... here we are... November 14th... and it is deciding to go for it and bloom. Gorgeous off white petals with a nice pink blush... so excited.

Fingers crossed they weather as predicted through the Winter! And then I can what the other plants will do!

Last weekend I took a yoga class. Bikram Hot style yoga. I felt inept and cumbersome and certainly by no means flexible (my boobs kept getting in the way, along with the rest of my body for that matter)... but I stayed in the 95-100 degree room the entire time and focused as intently as I could through each pose. Looking at yourself in a huge ballet mirror as you are sweating like a pig... it was a little distracting... BUT... I loved it... it was hard... it was hot... it was exhausting... but I felt amazing afterwards... mentally/emotionally... I can eaasily see the addiction... the gnawing insecurity and uncertainty that I am not a lithe willowy pretzel will just have to go the f*ck away!

I then drove to Cincinnati the next day for business... slept in a hotel bed and woke up with a pinched nerve in my back... Drove back to Chicago last night... was achy this morning... but am going to make myself go back to yoga tomorrow... even if I can't do the poses... I can be there... and work on that inner focus and stillness.

Florida Friday for work... back Saturday... My friends Laurie and Fosetine are going to meet me Sunday for yoga.

I have not posted in awhile. Lots going on. More than I want at times. My infusion pharmacy was closed down. And while I have not blogged on what I do. Suffice it to say. I put a lot of hard work into getting it up and running (as did my partner) but the owners had other ideas on "time lines" for success. Found a per diem position right away, but it has not brought in the hours I had hoped for. And with no severance, I am a little stressed. But trying to be okay with it all, hoping (and praying) that it will work out for the best... closed door... open window and all... and if the per diem parlays into a full time spot, I really think I will enjoy it.

The kids had a fun Halloween. Not as busy as it has been in the past, but good weather. For me it was great. I got to be a room mother for Lauren's first grade party. Something, due to work, I had never been able to do before. I am hoping that I can do that for the girls more often. I enjoyed it.

Daylight savings. Dark by 5:15 tonight. Winter is coming. Time to get into that mindset.


I have been experimenting with mosaics. I have completed 2 pieces and am working on a 3rd. It relaxes me. And I think as I do more, I will feel bolder about trying "new" things with the tiles.

Got a pinch collar, at a friends suggestion, for Bella. And it makes walks much more enjoyable. Although she has some new behaviors now which include practically yodeling when we approach another dog. Eventually she relaxes and will even sit, but without the training collar, she would tear my shoulders up.

Thinking I am going to try a yoga class. I know the kids would love a "calmer" more centered me. And while I think the new job will be great. The driving and traveling might prove to be a little draining. So I will keep you posted on how Bikram Hot Yoga treats me :)

Summer is gone. And the girls are back to school. First grade for Lauren and Fifth grade for Emma... Emma seems excited and has started writing her stories again. Lauren got a "warm fuzzy" her first full week for good behavior. Go figure. We have had a couple nice days... with evening temperatures that tell me Fall will be here soon enough. It was a very hot sticky Summer and I am ready for foliage and Halloween and baking. Bella likes the cooler days too. She sprawls on the deck at dusk enjoying the cool air. Keeping all potential trespassers out of her yard... this includes cats and squirrels!


Brad's tomatoes are getting bigger and bigger,but still are green
as can be. Hopefully some nice red ones before the first frost. I had dehydrated some tomato slices about a month or so ago and we put them in garlic and olive oil and put them on a pizza. Luscious and rich, the flavor really magnified. I want to do some
more. maybe roma tomatoes.


Up to this point I do not think I have ever had "real" Korean food. I mean, sure, I know the flavors... soy, fish sauce, garlic, sesame oil, chili sauce, ginger etc... but I had never gone to a restarant. Friday Khalil, my work partner, and I went out for lunch. We chose this little Korean place around the corner and Khalill got kimchi and rice. Which I thought would be disgusting. The idea of kimchi always making me a little squeamish. It came out sizzling in a stone bowl and smelled amazing. Having flavors and textures that made me wiggle in my chair and hum as I tasted it. It was so good. When I got back to work, I called Brad to tell him how awesome it was. I must have said it several times...

Saturday I was still thinking about how surprisingly good I found kimchi and the rice that had crisped to the bottom of the stone bowl.

Sunday Brad and I were out and went into a really nice Asian market, catering to Chinese, Japanses and Korean. They had the stone bowls or "dol sots". So I bought one and we proceeded to get the ingredients needed for the dish... Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap or a stone bowl with rice and other veggies and meats.

We got Korean Black Glutinous rice... which when cooked is a gorgeous indigo. Came home and put the dol sot in the oven to get it piping hot. I made a spicy ground pork with ginger and chili sauce and soy, chopped up some kimchi, steamed some bean sprouts and julienned carrot and radish slices.



When the dol sot was hot, I put a little toasted sesame oil in the bottom and the rice... it began to sizzle immediately. Then in a circle I put the pork, the kimchi I had warmed up, the sprouts and the carrots over the rice. Topping that with a fried egg.




We at it with soy and white vinegar. And it was incredible for a first go pulling it from my head.

The rice gets crusty and caramelizes
to the bottom of the stone bowl.
Yummy and crunchy... tasting
so good with a little vinegar
and the chili garlic heat of the kimchi.
I will definitely do it again. And now
feel confident enough to
experiment a little more next time.
A very good $25 investment
in the stone bowl. I think the kids
will like it too...
Brad said over and over
how delicious he though it was.
Which made me happy.