Rising Every Time We Fall

I had a really challenging yoga practice today. Granted, when one attends classes called "Power Yoga" and "Yoga Sculpt" one expects to be challenged. Today was different. It was the first time in a long time that I really couldn't do something; I just couldn't lift myself.

At the end of the asana, we settled into child's pose to steady our breath and take a break. I don't know if it was just a case of the Mondays or what, but I honestly felt like crying. I felt defeated; I felt like I had let myself down. My go-to book on yoga wisdom goes on and on about how the mind and body are connected, and that if we can steady our minds we can steady our bodies (mind over matter, right?). Today was the first time I really and truly felt disappointed in my mind about something I couldn't do with my body. As the class continued, we practiced a very challenging series of leg-strengthening asanas. My legs and arms quivered (which I'm told is my muscles getting stronger...), but it wasn't just my muscles shaking. I also felt mentally shaky and still unsure of myself.

At the end of class as I cleaned off my yoga mat, my head was still spinning. My disappointment was still raw. My instructor was busy with another student after class, so I never got a chance to express my feelings to her and seek her always kind encouragement. I always have some kind of mantra running through my mind during class to help me through tough poses, but I was so totally thrown off guard that I couldn't even think of one helpful mantra to bring me back to center.

So, this afternoon after I cleaned the carpet and folded the laundry and chastised myself for letting Soren watch tv all day, I opened my trusty book of yoga wisdom to a chapter on enhancing resilience. I found a quote from Confucius that I think will make a great mantra for the next time I feel overcome by a challenge:

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Remember a few posts ago when I longed for an inspiring Republican presidential candidate? When I bemoaned Mitt Romney for being rich and arrogant and flippy-floppy? Remember when I wanted someone to outshine Romney and be something special?

I take it all back.

Ladies and gentlemen, Newt Gingrich is not the person of which I was speaking. For the love of all that is holy, let that man go back to the hole in the wall he crawled into after being shamed out of politics. I certainly want Barack Obama to be re-elected. I definitely think he's the man for the job - especially when who the Republicans bring to the table are people I wouldn't have dinner with much less vote for. However, I want Americans - all Americans- to have a choice when they vote. I don't want that choice to be which candidate sucks less ass than the other (or which candidate ISN'T Obama).

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I still believe in love. I still believe that there's someone out there for everyone. That soul mate. That "one" person who even though they piss you off so badly at times, you understand his/her flaws and find a way to overcome them.

Newt Gingrich is not the one. Dear god, he is soooooo not the one.

Yep. More Food

I've had a lot of food posts recently, and that's probably why I haven't lost any weight since November: curse you, carbs! This post is actually more about a twist on an old favorite, chicken fried steak.

While cruising the meat section at the grocery store, I noticed that there were some tenderized pork cutlets. I'd never made chicken fried steak with pork before, and since the pork cutlets were from Farmalnd Foods (Holla!), I thought I'd give it a try.

Long story short: I will never use beef again. The pork seriously tasted so much better. Take a look at this and try not to wish you were in the pan with that bad boy:

Yes, that thing is as big as my frying pan.

Chicken fried pork with gravy is extremely bad for you. However, here's the main reason I only make it once in a blue moon: it makes a HUGE mess and takes forever to make it for 6 people.



That said, it was freaking AMAZING.

Girl Scouts Yoga

Our Girl Scouts field trip for January was a trip to the YMCA for a yoga class with my instructor/friend Amy. We couldn't use the regular yoga room for our class, but we made due with one of the multipurpose rooms. The girls were working on earning a petal for being "courageous and strong," and I thought yoga would fit perfectly in with the theme.

Just look at my strong little warriors:

Thanks to Amy and the YMCA for sharing yoga with us!

Pigs in a Blanket

The pizza dough recipe I posted the other day works great in these pigs in a blanket. Just look at these bad boys:



A few notes about the recipe: you only need to make about half of the baking soda water ( 4 cups is way too much). You also need to only make a portion of the mustard sauce. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday, Brody!

My littlest boy is 9 years old (well, today he's 9 years and 1 day old). Birthday #9 looked a lot like birthday #8: supper at Cici's with kids from school who then came back to our house for a sleepover. Brody didn't care; he was in little boy heaven.

Here they are chowing down at the pizza buffet:

Brody chose ice cream cake again this year, although I'm not sure why. I don't think he really likes it that much. Next year I may encourage him to go with traditional cake. I was quite impressed with Dairy Queen's retro Star Wars edible image; you can't go wrong with Darth Vader.

One of the boys (the one giving the horns) had terrible ass gas as noted by A and his need to cover his nose during photo time:



Colby and the girls were asleep before 10pm, but the birthday boys and I were up until midnight. Fun was had by all, and no one got hurt. That, my friends, is a successful boy's birthday party.

Girl Scout Cookies on Sale Now

This is my first year as a Girl Scout/GS Troop Leader. So far, so good. Of course, the highlight of the Girl Scouts for many is the annual cookies sales, which for us began yesterday. I found a great article about the history of GS cookies.

For a troop like mine, selling cookies will be our lifeline. We are like a political campaign in desperate need of funding. I have an amazing troop of girls, but we don't really have the money to participate in many activities. We are constantly trying to find free things to do. I've spent a bit of my own money buying crafts and such. We've spent a big chunk of money sending food and treats to a soldier overseas. We do our best with limited funds, but it would be nice to have a little more money to spend on cool field trips and an end of the year troop activity (like camp or something).

I will point out that unlike Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts organization on a national level accepts ALL girls - even ones who are gay and even a transgendered boy. Said acceptance of a transgendered boy has caused a great deal of controversy and even a cookie boycott movement. I would never attach my name to an organization that I felt had a philosophy of exclusion, and I encourage everyone to buy Girl Scout cookies this year. If you want to help out but don't want all those cookies in your house, give a Gift of Sharing. This means that you purchase a box of cookies that is then donated to the charity chosen by the troop (often a food pantry or shelter or overseas military). The troop gets the money, but you don't get a fat ass. It's a win-win.

Whether it's Peanut Butter Patties or Shortbreads, no matter which cookie is your favorite you can be confident that purchasing Girl Scout cookies will make your life a little sweeter - and help out girls in your community.

Corporate Bread Experiment Part 2

A few weeks ago I bitched a little bit about how much work it is to make most foods from scratch. My new motto, "If I CAN make it myself then I SHOULD make it myself" has been difficult to live up to in some respect - particularly not purchasing "corporate" bread. Lucky for my sanity, I've found two yeast bread recipes that will make my life a little bit easier.

I've found a great hoagie bun recipe that is both easy and versatile courtesy of Taste of Home. You can find it here, and I suggest that if you ever get the urge to make some buns then try these. I've used them toasted for french dip sandwiches and used them for regular sandwich rolls. Mmmmm!

I've also found an easy, healthy, and ample recipe for an all-purpose wheat bread for everyday use. It made great egg-in-a-basket, sandwiches, french toast, grilled cheese, and toast. I found it here on Allrecipes. It makes three loaves (which lasts about 3 days here), and I froze one to see how it turned out after being thawed - it was great.

Pizza dough from scratch is really easy and delicious. Here's a nice recipe for a basic pizza dough, but I've made a few changes. I add almost a teaspoon each more sugar (or honey) and sea salt. I also use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I've added herbs and garlic to the crust, as well, and it's really good. I guess if I give you a crust recipe I should provide a homemade pizza sauce recipe. I don't use the canned tomato sauce called for in the recipe because I still have tomatoes from our garden frozen in the deep freezer.

I hope maybe you'll find the time to try some yeast breads in your kitchens. Maybe you won't make them every day like I do, but that's only because you're not a sucker for punishment.

Take Me to Your Leader

Inspired by a New Year's Eve conversation with a friend, I've been thinking a lot about what it would be like to be a Republican voter right now. During said conversation, I asked my friend who she was planning on voting for in the next election. Her response was such a non-answer that she could probably run for office herself if she has more non-answers like this: "I didn't vote for Barack Obama the first time, and I'm not voting for him this time."

So, she doesn't know who she IS going to vote for, but she does know who she ISN'T going to vote for. Not resigned to take such an apathetic answer, I asked her husband who Republicans should vote for if they are dissatisfied with Obama. I was somewhat surprised when he answered, "Rick Perry." Oh snap!! I quickly changed the subject to avoid ruining the happy New Year's buzz I had thanks to chardonnay and mimosas.

As I recall from the 2008 election season, I didn't know who I wanted vote for: Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. But my indecision was based on having two GOOD choices not five bad choices. The Republicans have spent the last year or so looking for a leader. It seems that most will settle and vote for Mitt Romney if he is the GOP nominee. However, Mr. 25% is certainly not a leader. He doesn't inspire. He doesn't resonate. He's flippy-floppy. He bears the John Kerry-esque stench of money that the common man finds hard to handle.

I want the Republicans to have a leader if only for the sake of my own political discussions among my friends. I want Republicans to have someone to keep them warm at night instead of just a warm body, you know? If they can't give me that then I will continue to have uncomfortable Rick Perry moments with my friends. And I don't like that one bit.

New Year's Eve 2011

I'm pretty sure last year was the first year we had ever been out for New Year's Eve. It's obviously difficult to go out often when you are pregnant, nursing, or the parents of 4 children. However, now that the kids are all out of diapers and off the boob and mostly able to use the bathroom all by themselves, people are much more willing to watch them. Each new year the kids are a year older and a little easier to handle. Thank goodness.

This year we went out for a repeat performance with our friends D and L. Before we left we had to do our customary self portrait photo:



This year we ate sushi instead of Green Gateau. I'm pretty sure Kinja's Sex and the City rolls are my final meal when I get on death row. Amazing. With our bellies full, we headed to Starbucks for coffee.



Then we, of course, headed out for a few drinks at a martini bar. One of our favorite bars in town, Cliff's, caters to a little more mature crowd. We weren't worried about being surrounded by drunk 21-year-olds when we found a seat near the back of the bar. We were, instead, surrounded by drunk 25 to 50-year-olds.




Our friends went home early, but Colby and I were going to take full advantage of being kid-free. We decided to ring in the New Year in downtown Lincoln with the drunk college-aged crowd. What a sight to be seen. You have no idea how many times I said, "Oh my god, that's someone's daughter." Or maybe, "Did she dress for a date rape?" Or how about, "Jesus christ I am getting old." And, of course, the always popular, "Just because they make it in your size doesn't mean you should wear it."

Lucky for us we found a seat at Jake's Cigar bar with the more hipster, mature crowd. We actually met a really nice couple to spend the remaining hours of our night out. They were in their mid twenties, the parents of a little girl, who hadn't been out to a bar since 2008. He was a Iraq war veteran on disability who worked part time at a bicycle repair shop. She was getting ready to start a new job at Applebee's. Over all, we had a lot in common despite our differences, and they were nice enough to take a photo of us on their camera phone when Colby's malfunctioned. Sadly, the photo never arrived in my e-mail inbox despite the fact that I thought we entered the address correctly in the phone. That's what I get for trying to send an e-mail while drunk. Sigh.

After our midnight kiss and a little more visiting with our new friends, we headed to the truck stop near our house for breakfast a "breakfast" of chicken fried steak, cherry pie, and fried cheese.




We got to bed around 2:30 am, which is the latest we've been up (not including being up with a baby/puking kid/kid with croup). It was a great night to say good-bye to 2011 and ring in 2012.

Happy New Year!

Happy Hanukkah!

Ever since we spent an evening at a Girl Scout meeting talking about different ways people celebrate December holidays, Evelyn has been enthralled with Hanukkah. She wants a menorah so badly, so I suppose I'll scope out holiday clearance to find one.

In the meantime, I bought her some Hanukkah stickers, and she's had a great time making pictures. Even if those pictures include a Christmas tree.