Putting the focus on me

Ok, so I haven’t written much in a really long time, which leads me to realize I haven’t been focused on myself in a really long time. When I began this journey, it was all about focusing on me and improving me. Admittedly life changed immensely since I started this and got really crazy, really fast, in wonderful ways. So many good things have been happening, but, being the consummate pessimist that I am, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something to go really wrong. It’s tough to have faith that nothing will go wrong, when it seems like for a lifetime it always has. But, so far, so good! However, I have noticed lately that in all that’s been going on, I’ve lost focus on me. I’m still important and should be a focus for myself.

So, it’s time to get back on track with my journey. I’ve almost accomplished one more goal on the list…just one more book and I will finally have read all of the Harry Potter books. I have to admit, I’ll be a little sad when they’re over. Harry, Hermoine, Ron, even Draco have become a huge part of my life over the last year. I know they’re fictional characters, but, they have become real to me. The stories are wonderfully written, full of just enough fantasy to make them fun and enough realness (is that a word) to make me remember how crazy uncomfortable and awkward high school once was for all of us.

I’ve also started taking time for me and am trying to stop being apologetic about it. I’ve started a swim class and have looked into cooking classes for the fall. All these things I’ve wanted to do, I’m finally doing it. There is no better time than now. I’ve always said I don’t want to look back and regret my life or the choices I made and I want to try everything. Well, now is my chance. Now is my time to live life. I think we all can come up with excuses or reasons not to live life in the moment. Sure, jobs are required and bills have to be paid. Dogs need to be walked and children need to be fed. But, there’s always a moment for you. I’m taking those moments for me again. I want to be the best version of me for me which in turn will be a great version of me for my family. The world isn’t perfect, people aren’t perfect, I’m not perfect. Often that’s always what I’m striving for. Not to get life right, but to get it perfect. That’s unrealistic. I just need to make sure as much as I can, and within my control, that life is good for me and my family. A happy me will help accomplish that.

Pumpkin Spice Blossoms

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is bake. I LOVE to bake. I don't so much  love the calories from all the things I bake, which is why most of what I do bake gets given away, but I enjoy baking. This year I was looking for some new recipes and found this one on pinterest. I love everything pumpkin so I  knew I had to try it out. The hardest part of the recipe was finding the Hershey's pumpkin spice kisses. I finally was able to find them from Amazon. Two things to note on the recipe below, you do not need 4 dozes kisses. The recipe says it will yeild 48 cookies, but I only got about 24 out of it. If you double the recipe, you should get to your 48 cookies.

Pumpkin Spice Blossoms

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup pure pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 dozen Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in flour mixture.

Form 1 1/4″ balls of dough and place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, for 12 minutes until edges are firm. Cool for 1 minute on baking sheets, then transfer cookies to wire racks. Press a pumpkin spice kiss into each cookie, then transfer wire racks to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the chocolate to set. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Season's bounty

This past weekend I went apple picking for the very first time. I even grabbed a pumpkin. Apple picking is something growing up in Southern California I never heard about. When I moved to New Jersey in 2004 and my roommate at the time told me about it I was convinced I had to do this. It seemed like so much fun. Well, eight years later I finally got around to going. What can I say, I’m a procrastinator. 

Apple picking truly was the fun I thought it would be. More so it was the time with friends than the actual picking the apples off the tree. Watching the little kids with their families was great too. Seeing the excitement on their faces at dad or grandpa pulling down the apples for them from way up high was priceless.

But the best part was using the apples. I love apples. I eat them nearly daily. But what I love most about apples is what you can do with them. My mother makes an awesome homemade apple pie every Thanksgiving. I, for whatever reason, had never in my life made an apple pie before. I decided that I’d take her recipe and try my hand at making one finally.  If I do say so myself, it came out fabulous. I only had a teeny-tiny piece as I truly made this for others, not me, to enjoy. But a cook has to taste their recipe, right?
I’ll share my recipe here, but, it’s a pretty standard recipe:

My mom’s apple pie:
6 – 8 apples peeled/cored and thinly sliced (I used granny smith apples and they were huge so I only used 4)
¾ to 1 cup sugar (depends on how sweet the apples you use are, since I used less sweet apples I used 1 cup of sugar)
2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
If apples lack tartness sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
Instructions:
Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix with apples. Line your pie pan with pie dough. Fill with the apple mixture. Add the second pie dough over the top. Crimp together the two pie dough’s all the way around the pie. Cut slits in the top of the pie in various areas for the steam to escape.  Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until done. And this little tip from my mom was a stove saver: Put tin foil under the pie in the oven in case any juices seep out!

Seriously, this pie was so simple but so delicious. My next challenge – homemade crust to go with the pie.

Bucket List

Ok, so it’s not a newsflash to many who know me, but I love lists. Any kind of list. It’s kind of why I took like a fish to water with this 101 list. My life in the past two years has changed dramatically. In 2010 I thought I was off to Dubai for an adventure. Prior to leaving my roommate and I created a “to-do” list. We wrote down everything in the New York and New Jersey area we wanted to do and just had never gotten around to yet. I don’t remember everything that was on the list, but, remember it being fun to do what we had wanted to do for a while and check off the list.

Recently, I have noticed I have not been living, enjoying or participating in life much. I’ve been letting little things get to me and focusing on the wrong things. I started this list as a way to find a way for me to enjoy life more often. This past weekend I really took that to heart. A last minute work trip to Asheville, NC gave me a chance to sit back and take stock. I didn’t want to go there, but once I got there, I realized what a great city it was, and what a great opportunity to see a part of the country I never would have, on my own, chosen to go see. The people were friendly, the weather was amazingly perfect, the drive through NC was gorgeous, and I had a chance to see some friends and family that I had not seen in quite a while. It gave me a chance to remember, sit back, and take it all in. You only live once, enjoy it while you’re here.

Which leads me to yet another list. My lists have a tendency to be about getting to a particular goal. This list is going to be my “I’m going to enjoy my summer 2012” list. A few things from my 101 list will be on here, because, well, I like to kill two birds off my lists with one stone. Here goes:

1.    Go to a winery with friends

2.    Go to the beach as often as I can (sadly it turns out as often as I can was only once. *sigh*)

3.    Have a picnic

4.    Go to Seattle (thank you work for making this possible!)

5.    Take more photos

6.    Go hiking

7.    Watch the sunset over the ocean

8.    Watch the sunrise over the ocean

9.    Go to a baseball game at Camden Yards (already planned for late summer)

10.  Take some time this summer to NOT have plans and just ENJOY the sights, sounds and tastes of summer

Money, Money, Money...MONEY

For the past few months I’ve been stressing about money. Actually, more like for the better part of a year off and on I’ve been stressing about it. Last year I was in a pretty good place financially when I purchased my condo, even with the expenses of moving in I wasn’t doing so badly. Then the summer hit and a few things went out of control, unexpected expenses that hit us all at one time or another in life. Without the cash to cover them they went on the credit cards. I spent the fall working to get them taken care of, and then the holidays hit. After the holidays I spent the better part of the winter working on getting them down, only to see them go back up again. Finally realizing this up and down battle is getting me no where…fast…I decided to take charge. To be honest, I’ve been pretty lazy about my financial situation for many years now. Feeling that, hey, I make good money, I can afford this or I can say yes to that has gone on for far too long. It scares me to think what I could have in my savings right now had I just been smarter here and there. I won’t say I regret any of the big things I’ve done (my travels, my condo, etc) those are experiences that have changed my life. I just wish those times when it was the end of the paycheck period before the next one came and I went to that dinner with friends and put it on the credit card, or bought those clothes that probably right now have been given to good will that I regret. I wish I would have thought more about those purchases and said, nope, not this time – but next time when I have the cash on hand.

Finally, realizing in the last few weeks how lackadaisical I’ve been in my own financial future, I decided to make a real change. I’ve done some serious research and taken some steps to get myself set to right. One of my goals on my 101 list is to pay off my credit card. To do that I’ve decided to transfer my balance to a 0% interest credit card and I have until Aug next year to pay off my balance in full. I’ve also started drinking coffee at home, eating breakfast at home, and bringing my lunch to work and for every day I would have spent money on lunch I have set up an automatic payment in that amount to go towards my credit card balance. I’ve also started paying attention to the way in which I shop for food. I don’t price shop, nor do I go to the cheapest grocery store. I go to the most convenient and buy whatever I feel like. This doesn’t always amount to much in the way of saving money. I have made a pact with myself to create a meal plan for every week and when shopping on Sunday’s, buy what’s on sale, what’s cheapest, and this also helps me with staying healthy. Also, stealing an idea from a friend of mine, I’ve started the $5 savings plan. Every time she has a $5 bill on her, she throws it into a savings jar. By doing this it forces her to pull out cash for things she wants to do or buy. She said it’s made her more aware of how she spends her money and $5 adds up faster than say $1 so it’s more incentive to keep doing it. I shall start this as well and at the end of every month, throw that money into my savings account.

With the help of someone pretty fantastic supporting me on this mission and giving me some sound advice (like up the amount you put into your 401k damn it and please for the love of God set up an ing savings account) I think I am finally on a solid path to a secure financial future. Then again, if this doesn’t work, there’s always the lottery!

Run for the Wild

On April 28 I ran my first ever 5K. I have done 5Ks in the past, but I always walked them, this time I ran. My finish time was 35:15. Not a great time by any means, but for me, that’s my best time ever so I’m happy. The race also benefitted the Wildlife Conservation Society and their efforts to protect the habitats of lions, which are losing ground across the African Plains. The funds I raised will go toward the WCS’s projects to conserve lions and other imperiled animals around the globe and at the Bronx Zoo.

Lions now live in only a small number of African countries. The nations of Morocco, Algeria, Congo, and Gabon have lost all of their lions. If we don’t act soon, they could also vanish from Nigeria, South Sudan, and Uganda. The donations I collected will go toward WCS’s efforts to monitor lions and work with local communities to co-exist peacefully with the big cats. I encourage each of you to visit the WCS Run for the Wild website and support their work. I believe they are still accepting donations. Its important work and we cannot let these animals be pushed out!

Knife skills

After years of saying I wanted to, I finally took a knife skills course. In the last few years I have become obsessed with the Food Network and have been trying out new recipes. To go along with my recently acquired confidence in my cooking ability, I felt I needed some confidence with the knives I used. Lesson number one that I learned last night...I totally have crappy knives. Not cutting yourself in the kitchen, I have learned, is totally dependent on good knives that are sharpened properly…and properly used. Here are some of the pointers I took away from last night:

1.    Sharpen your knives once a year and always sharpen them in the same direction every time.

2.    Always store your knives in a block or in a drawer with a special cutlery insert. Storing them loose in a drawer with other utensils will dull them.

3.    Never wash your knives in a dishwasher. (I’m TOTALLY guilty of this one.)

4.    For someone like me who’s just an average (read: NOT chef) cook, you really only need a chef’s, utility, bread, and boning knife as well as a slicer.

a.    The chef’s knife is the workhorse and is designed for chopping, mincing, dicing and julienning fresh fruits and vegetables.

b.    The paring knife is ideal for preliminary cuts, peeling, trimming or squaring off small fruits or vegetables

c.    A utility knife is handy for peeling and slicing as well as carving small cuts of meat

d.    The bread knife is great for crusty loaves and food with a hard exterior and soft interior like tomatoes and citrus fruits (I totally had no clue about this)

e.    Also important are a slicer which allows you to produce thin, uniform slices when carving roasted meats and poultry and a boning knife good for precision control when you remove meat and poultry from the bone.

Don’t ask me to give any demonstrations on uses of these knives, in the demo part of the class I found myself going back to my usual (read: wrong) ways of cutting. It will take time and practice the teacher said. The biggest thing I need to learn is how to hold the knife and how to use “the claw” which is the grip you see the chef’s on TV use when cutting and chopping. Guess this means I just have to cook more to put in the practice. Just one more step toward me gaining ultimate kitchen confidence!