And The Smoothies I Drink...KASHI KICK

This is so yummy & easy to make I can't stand it!

1 cup KASHI cereal

2 cups plain soy milk*

1 banana

1 TBSP honey or brown rice syrup.

Blend.

Enjoy!

* or vanilla, chocolate soy milk (or if you insist, cow's milk)

cherish each good-bye

i last saw my dad up & bout in early april of this year.
i had been in indiana to see my niece, kate, dance in sleeping beauty.
a couple of days later dad took me to the train station, we kissed good-bye & said "love you."
if i had only known.


the last few days i have been kinda weepy. i know this will sound silly, especially if you haven't lost a loved one...
remember the scene in the first superman movie when lois lane is killed in the earthquake?
when superman discovers what happened, he is devastated.
he flies off into the heavens & spins the earth backwards, right at the point when the quake begins. he is then able to swoop down and save lois just before her car tumbles into a vast opening on the road she is driving.


that's what i want. i want God to spin the world backwards, right to that last day, the moment when i am saying good-bye to daddy. the moment when we hug & say "love you."
i would hug him a little tighter. maybe hold hold his hand. i would make sure that he understood how very much i loved him.

So worth the money

There was a little girl of about 6 years old walking along with her mother as I was leaving Target yesterday.
The girl was sobbing hysterically repeatedly saying,
"I will be good! I will be good! I just want it! I just want it!"
Mom replied once with a stern,
"I told you to be good before hand."
I don't believe this response appeased the child because she continued to cry & utter her "I will be good!" speech.
I felt badly for her.
I know how it feels to me, as an adult when I can't get what I want.
And I remember what it felt like when I was 6 years old & my parents refused my request for the best dress-record-toy in the universe.
My world would come crashing down around me.
I would not & could not ever be happy again.
I watched the duo walk into the parking lot,
and as the girl's wails faded into the distance
I said to myself,
"Oh sweetie, you won't even remember this in 2-3 days."
No sooner had the sentence escaped my lips did I then utter (with a smile),
"Or maybe you will remember it for the rest of life like I do the fact that my mother refused to buy me the David Cassidy Trapper Keeper."

I was in second or third grade when I spotted the binders at Turnstyle while back-to-school shopping.
One with Donny Osmond the other with dreamy David Cassidy.
I so badly wanted that Trapper Keeper.
To be able to look at not one but 3 pictures of David all day long!
I begged & pleaded with my mom.
"Please mom. Please. It's David Cassidy. I love him soooooooo much. Please!!!!!! I'll never ask for anything ever again. I promise. PLEASE!!!"
She refused.
Her excuse?
Too expensive for something that probably wouldn't last the entire school.
I was completely mortified when she instead purchased an ugly, plain, orange 3-ring binder. Ughhhhhhh!

Well I showed her alright...not last the school year my left foot...about 10 years ago I finally threw out that hideous binder. If she had gotten me the David Cassidy Trapper Keeper I would still have it today.

I think I love him

I miss my dad

I teared up over my dad last night for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Lying in bed, outta nowhere, tears.

This morning I sat on my sofa and cried.

My friends who have lost parents say that it's normal.

My friend Sue who lost her mom a few years ago

told me that I will think about my dad every day for months

then one day I will realize that he hasn't crossed my mind

&

I will beat myself up because

I will feel I have somehow failed him.

I can't imagine not thinking about him.

My friend Joe, he lost his dad 6 years ago,

says that it will forever suck.

That seems about right.

And the spreads I make....Blackberry & Thyme

1 qt fresh blackberries

1 tbs fresh thyme

2 tsp of raw sugar (or 1/4 tsp of stevia)

1 tbs fresh lemon juice.

crunch together with your hands.

spread butter on an english muffin or scone or whatever and top with blackberry spread.

Enjoy!

Anticipation is making me wait

signed up at [christian]singles mingles.

just doing a trial run.

see what happens.

if anything.

have had several men look at my profile

but

no winks

or

smiles

or

howdy-dos.

will it kill me if i don't get any of the above?

no.

will my ego be bruised.

hell yeah.

And The Foods That I Eat: Mexican Black Beans in Red Velvet Mole

I made this the other night and ohmygosh! it is so very good. I poured it over a soft broccoli polenta dish that I made and my mouth was very happy indeed!

This recipe makes 6 servings

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp aniseed

5 tsp chili powder (I use a chipotle chili powder)

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cups raisins

1/4 cups crushed tortilla chips

3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbs peanut or almond butter

2 tbs agave nectar

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

Saute onions for 5 minutes.

Add garlic, herbs, spices. Saute for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes & broth, bring to a boil.

Add raisins, chips, cocoa & peanut butter. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Transfer to a blender and puree. Transfer back to pot and stir in agave.

Add beans.

Let stand for 10-15 minutes.**

**My co-worker Pedro told me that his grandmother let's her mole simmer all day. Usually from mid-morning until dinner. I am thinking that Pedro's grandmother probably knows best in this case.