whirls of wind

This has been a very eventful past several days. Whew! What a whirlwind of occurrences! But it’s all been of the good variety, so I’ll accept this busy-ness with a greedy grin and open arms.

The first thing that happened didn’t start out so good, but turned out very well in the end. Without boring you with the details, I will just announce that I turned in my resignation at the inn. It was kind of unexpected, but, also, kind of inevitable. I had been hoping that I could make things work, but, alas, no puedo. So, I’m here one more month, then it’s back to a hodge-podge of part-time gigs again. This arrangement seems to suit me, anyway, so I’m looking forward to it. And some pocket change advice for all of you out there: If something makes you unhappy or uncomfortable, and you cannot find a way to change it for the better, then dump it and move on! Life’s too short, yo! You know it. I know it. The little old lady who lives on your block knows it. So, do something about it!

ahem … and now back to our regularly scheduled blog post …

Okay, where were we? Oh yes, my crazy days of late. So, on the heels of this fairly major life decision, I was invited to a friend’s 40^th birthday bash. And (gasp!) I actually went! Yes, that’s right! I went out on the town. I got a little tarted up in a 1940’s inspired dress with my seldom worn, but much adored, satin yellow peep-toe wedge sandals with the gold sequins on the heels. My friend, S., went with me, and darned if she didn’t outshine me in the all-dolled-up category! S. is a whiz with a needle and thread, and also happens to be fantastic at creating effortless looking retro hairstyles. (This is a skill I’m trying to hone, though.) So, we went for a bite at Revolution, then made our way over to Fullsteam Brewery where the festivities were taking place. We met Sister there. The Birthday Boy was beaming in the web of love radiating from so many family and friends. His Darling Wife had arranged this bash with a local karaoke band called Voices Carry playing through the evening. The [evil?] genius behind this band is that they play live 80’s hits while audience members get to sign up to fill the role of lead singer. (They provide lyrics, too, which are very helpful. But, in case they are reading this, I might suggest that they offer some kind of prompter so singers will know when to start singing. I’m just saying … it’s not always easy to remember these things when you are all nervous and on stage and likely in some varying state of inebriation.)

Now, I am one who sings in the privacy of my home, or car when I had one. But I don’t normally offer up my vocal stylings for public consumption. That said, I almost always really want to. I mean really, really want to. So, there is this internal battle waging between the me that likes being a performer and the me that is scared silly by the notion. Usually the latter wins. But this night Birthday Boy’s Darling Wife asked Sister and me to do a song with her, so we bravely accepted. I would like to tell you that it was much better than I anticipated … that my fears were unwarranted … that we rocked the party live. Sadly, I cannot tell you that. In fact we were bad. And not just bad, but downright terrible. Not even in a ‘this is so terrible it’s funny’ kind of way. Just terrible. We cleared the room. The whole warehouse-sized room full of people was pretty much a ghost town by the time we left the stage. It was kinda sad, really. I think the main problems were that only Mrs. Darling Wife could see the lyrics book, and we could none of us seem to figure out when our cues were, so we spent half the song just asking each other “What are we supposed to be singing right now? Where are we in this song, anyway?” (Hence the aforementioned suggestion to the band.) But it was still a wonderful feat of bravery that we got on stage at all. And that, to me, means success!

I managed to stay up way past my bedtime helping Birthday Boy celebrate his big day. (I told you this was a big weekend!) I ended up stumbling into the house around 1:00am, and that was a stumble from dance-weary feet, not booze. (That’s right … that karaoke incident was totally sober. Maybe that was the problem?) I spent the next couple days trying to recover from the lack of sleep, but it was totally worth it. I had a brilliant time! Happy Birthday, K.!! Thanks for letting me party with you, dude!

Note: It pains me to admit that I forgot to take my snazzy new camera with me to this shindig. So, I have no photos to share. I’ll do better next time, I promise.

The next couple days were spent catching up on errands and continuing with my spring cleaning and rearranging projects. I’m still not totally finished, of course, but I did manage to make a decent dent in the to-do list. I plan to finish up on my next days off of work. Let’s hope I don’t make too much of a mess in the house before then. One thing of special note that I discovered while trying to clear out the overgrown garden at my rental is this lovely little flowering vine. I think it may be an oak-leaf hydrangea, but I’m not totally sure. In any case, it’s super sweet and totally lovely. I’m so glad I was able to rescue it from the bottom of the jungle of vinca overtaking the lawn. What fortune!

Amid all the drama and celebration this weekend, I also managed to [finally] finish up my taxes. My accountant is awesome, and I am so thankful for him. I was really procrastinating for a while thinking my travels might make things super confusing and time consuming. Turns out, it wasn’t so bad, really. And I’m even getting a nice refund. That’s right: I’m looking at you, Vitamix!

Yesterday, after all my chores and errands were completed, well, all the chores I had energy for, I decided to bake some cookies and watch a movie. Thelma & Louise was the film. I’d rented it from the library and was feeling some lady power was in order! (When is it not?) The cookies were an adaptation of a Joy the Baker recipe. If you aren’t familiar with Joy the Baker, I strongly encourage you to check out her blog. She’s pretty amazing. Seriously, go read her blog right now. You will love it, I’m sure. So, back to the cookies. These were lemon lavender shortbread cookies. I made them gluten free and really lavendery. In fact, I think I made them a little too lavendery. (And yes, I realize lavendery probably isn’t a real word, but it totally should be.) Otherwise, they were pretty delish. I think I’ll try a second batch soon and cut back on some of the lavender. As they were baking, I put a shout out on facebook inviting anyone interested to drop by and pick up some cookies fresh from the oven. I only had one taker, but it was very last minute, and I was glad for the chance to chat with this friend a bit on a balmy night. Next time, I think I’ll aim for more notice and see what happens. I mean, nothing says southern comfort like baked goods and neighbors calling, right?

Today took me back to work. It was a little busy, but I managed to check off an item on my to-do list, during a slow moment. I ordered a Mother’s Day gift for … well … my mother. While I was at it, I went ahead and ordered something lovely for myself, too. win-win! I can’t tell you what I got for mum since she might read this before she gets it, but I can tell you what I got for me! I got the Joy the Baker cookbook. I have wanted it since was released a couple months ago, and finally got myself in gear and ordered it. Yay!

Well, dearies, that’s the update for now. I’ll try to come back soon with some lovely and informative posts. I hope you’ve had a whirlwind of fun and accomplishment and simple treats, too! I wish them for you always!

xoxo,

Melanie

PS: I'll leave you with a few random images I've captured with the new camera. Enjoy!

Finally ... I'm writing a new post!!

Well, things have been rolling in a perpetual cyclone of shifts and progressions, transgressions and recoveries, and, always, discoveries.

I spent last month testing my toes in the waters of the Body Ecology Diet. February: my month of transition to a new way of eating, living, being. Aside from some fascinating, if uncomfortable, physical detoxification effects, it has been a much smoother transition than I had expected. (Yes, I am knocking on wood as I type this.) I don’t mean to imply that it has been super easy-peasy. I have experienced amplified reverberations of my symptoms: fatigue on a colossal level; that fuzzy-headed, spaced out inability to focus on anything; sore muscles; achy joints; toxic dreams, feelings, emotional outbursts; etcetera. But I have enjoyed the food I’ve been eating. I am fortunate that I happen to love vegetables ... even the sour cultured vegetables that are a signature of the BED. And now it’s necessary for me to choose vegetables over, say, cookies. I thought my cravings for sweet treats would be overwhelming and intensely physical, but that has, thankfully, not been the case. I have been having emotional cravings for baked goods and ice creams and chocolates, but my physical cravings have been minimal. In fact, the only real physical cravings I’ve noticed are for coffee, earl grey tea, and plantain chips. Things I didn’t really consume all that much before beginning the BED. Strange.

After the initial detoxifying shock of the new dietary regime, my body has begun to feel better. It has been a subtle shift that seems to be happening in nearly imperceptible increments. All of a sudden I have been noticing an increase in energy. I am experiencing moments of great productivity. I am able to think more clearly and focus on the task at hand, as well as preparing for the next few tasks ahead. My symptoms are lessening. I am feeling kinda good. I still have some minor physical symptoms, but they are radically lessened in occurrence and intensity. I have also lost some weight.

So, yeah, it’s going pretty well.

I mentioned that my craving for baked goods has been pretty negligible. But my craving to actually bake goods has been intense. So much so that I have begun baking things that I cannot even eat. My friends and family are simultaneously loving me and hating me as I force upon them ... er ... lovingly offer to them treat after treat. I have been baking things with and without gluten. I have baked strawberry hand pies, white cake with strawberries and pimms buttercream, white cake with powdered hot chocolate mix topping, a trio of cookies for a tea party at the inn, and a couple recipes of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies just to try to find the best one. I am on a baking tear! And I’m loving it! All I want to do is bake things. Oh, and clean my house. In fact, I might be turning into Donna Reed. Check back often … could be I’ll morph into her slowly like The Fly. But it’s so much fun to keep house! I’ve been listening to my Andrews Sisters channel on Pandora, which sets the mood delightfully. So, get prepared for some recipe posts soon. And I mean recipes for household cleaners and cosmetics as well as cakes, cookies and pies!

I also finally got a new camera. It’s a good one, too: A Nikon D3100. I still don’t really know how to use it properly, but at least I have a tool for snapping photos while I’m figuring it out. I’ll post some soon. (Haven’t figured out how to get the photos from the camera to the computer yet. I’m such a luddite.)

Lastly, I’ll be posting soon about my recent jaunt to Greenville, NC – the Emerald City – where I met up with a friend from college whom I haven’t seen since we were in school together. Fun times! And photos! And recipes! Keep reading! I promise to get my caboose in gear and start posting proper ... er ... posts to keep things interesting. Wishing you blissful experimenting!

Xoxo,

Melanie

(above: strawberry hand pies)



(above + below: earl grey tea cookie sandwiches w/ apricot jam - joint venture with Susan Massey. photo courtesy of KDI)

(above: salty oats + cranberry cookies. photo courtesy of KDI)

(above: strawberry shortcake mini muffins - joint venture with Susan Massey. photo courtesy of KDI)

PS: These photos were not taken on the new camera.

PPS: Please feel free to make suggestions if there are experiments you’d like me to try on your behalf. I promise to seriously consider all such requests.