Life

First off, let me start out with an apology.  I have not been very diligient about keeping my blog updated.  My goal was to be able to send out a new post at least once every three days, but that has not been happening.  So my sincerest apologies, dear readers, and I will try to do better.

I've been a bit behind because I've been busy working on projects for my graduate school program.  Thursday we had to present as teams in front of a room full of potential employers.  (Full meaning about forty some people representing some very large, very well recognized organizations like Bristol Myers Squibb, Johns Hopkins University, Tyco Electronics, etc.).  Talk about a lot of pressure. 

Yesterday I sat down and interviewed for jobs with some of the people who had been watching our team presentation.  Overall, I felt that a lot of the interviews went well, so I'm hoping that I will be hearing back from some of these companies very soon.  Hoping, hoping....keeping my fingers crossed.

On top of all of the stress associated with the presentation, job interviews, work for other classes that couldn't be put on hold, the full time job I'm currently holding to help pay for graduate school, etc., I came home yesterday to find out that our refridgerator decided to call it quits.  It's an old one anyway, but I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the timing of it.  There's nothing like finishing up a long day of interviews to find that all of your ice cream has melted and the milk has probably spoiled. Ah....life.

Healthy Eating...Part II

Tonight I am continuing in my quest to be healthy.  I came home from class tonight, and instead of opening the big bag of Doritos my husband brought home from the grocery store, I made a salmon/vegetable dinner. This may not sound like much, but it's really a big deal.  Doritos are my weakness. If I were Superman, or in keeping with my gender, Supergirl, Doritos would be my Kryptonite.  I am especially fond of the Spicy nacho ones.  I am guilty of making a bag of them my entire dinner at various times.

So tonight, I made a dinner inspired by Alton Brown.  If you're a Food Network junkie like I am, you know that he is the host of the show "Iron Chef America" and "Good Eats."  A couple weeks ago, I saw an episode of "Good Eats" about making "pouch dinners."  They are basically simple dinners created on the premise of being really quick and healthy.  It's supposed to be really good for fish dinners; you basically chop up a bunch of aromatic vegetables (carrots, celery, leeks, fennel, onions, etc) and wrap them with fish in a parchment paper pouch.  Add a little bit of lemon juice, wine, or vegetable broth and let it bake in the oven for twenty minutes, and you've got a little slice of nutritious heaven on your plate. 

To be honest, I've had a lot of setbacks with the whole "healthy living" thing.  Like I've said before...life happens.  Between a job, graduate school, taking care of a two-year-old, etc., I usually feel like I have no time to spend on making an involved dinner.  That's why a recipe like this fish pouch one is so fantastic....it takes me all of five minutes to prepare everything for the oven, and I don't have to worry about anything burning while it heats.  If anyone has any more recipes like this one, please feel free to share it.  I'm always on the lookout for new, creative and delicious recipes...I need them to keep me from heading out into the kitchen and opening those Doritos...

Plants in the Window

There are a number of things that I love about mornings.  I love waking up to the sound of birds chirping, seeing the sun shine through the windows, and hearing my son tell me to "Wake up Mommy" as he repeatedly jumps on my stomach.  One of my favorite parts of the morning, however, is going with my son to our living room window, and checking out the plants.

For the last month, we've been conducting an experiment of sorts.  I've been trying to grow an assortment of herbs, fruits, and vegetables in boxes in our huge living room window.  We've got cilantro, hot peppers, mustard greens, and tomato plants all sprouting up.  At some point, when the weather is a bit more reliable, these boxes are all going to move out to our deck, but for now they live in our bay window. 

So far, the experiment is going well.  Everything seems to be coming up as it should, and my son loves to point at and count all of the plants. (We get up to about thirteen, and then he starts all over again.)  I'm looking forward to the moment when we can start harvesting what we are trying to grow.  I already have plans for making jars of homemade salse with the tomatoes, peppers and cilantro.  The mustard greens are for my husband...apparently they are a Nepali delicacy.

A Need to Be Healthy

"Tomorrow I am going to start living healthy."

I find myself saying that a lot.  You all know the story.  Tomorrow comes and life happens; suddenly, trying to live healthy takes a back burner to everything else that's going on.  The job and the schoolwork and the family all take precedence, and it seems like there is no time or energy left.  So you (meaning I...) make excuses as to why I can't do it today, and I find myself saying that line all over again:

"Tomorrow I am going to start living healthy."

Life is giving me little nudges though.  It's saying "Okay Rachel, enough with the excuses.  How long do you really think you can put this off?"  The truth is, there will come a point where it will be too late.  I really don't want to ever reach that point.  Today, I'm taking a step back and looking at all of the things I want to accomplish, all the places I want to go, and how I want my life to be.  Today I am saying to myself that I am worth the time and energy needed to be healthy.  I'm going to start by heading to the kitchen and making a salad for dinner instead of picking up the phone and dialing for a pizza delivery.

"Today I am going to start living healthy."

PS. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.