You never know what you will stumble upon when you go to the store for a tube of BenGay.
I found this adorable princess crown at our local DG for $1.
I hobbled over to the self-checkout, which I despise, and paid for my little treasure and topical hot cold shit for my right leg.
I pulled my right glute muscle in the first dance class of 2019. It hurt for months.
When the weather gets cold, it literally kicks my ass. The pain has been pretty steady for most of February.
After leaving DG I went to dance class. I moved my right leg a little too far out and Boom! It felt like an arrow in my leg. 🎯
Needless to say, I couldn’t put any weight down on that leg but managed with a lot of pain to do upper body strength training moves and teach classes.
I was pissy on my way home and was in agony. When I got home I quickly tried on Nelly’s little crown, my heart melted and it cheered me up.
This little princess has become our magical princess that turns frowns upside down, and makes us so happy and lovey-dovey.
She is such a cuddle bug but likes to play hard. She knows how to play Marty like a fiddle which is the cutest thing ever for me to watch.
She was in her glory this weekend and I was too since my brother Dan and my 16-year-old niece Tabatha came to visit.
We had a wonderful time getting to each other better with lots of one one-on-one time.
We only met for the first time at the end of 2019 just before Covid. We still have a lot to catch up on and this was our chance.
Noah and Aja came for dinner on Friday night. Dan and Noah had a lot of stuff to chat about. It made my heart so happy!
Just as they were packing up to leave today, Sam showed up after spending time in Lake George for the weekend.
It was great they could at least talk for a few minutes before they headed back to Jersey.
It was a weekend retreat for them and me. We had lots of laughs, lots of stories to tell, and a few tears and we talked about the good and bad things we got from our father.
Father. Sperm donor. He was never a dad to his 3 children and split when Dan was 6 months old.
He never knew about me which was absolutely the best thing for me and my biological mom.
I am headed to bed with little Miss Nelly now. I know I’ll fall asleep with a smile on my face and more love in my heart. ♥️
Since Marty finally got his CPAP machine last week we both have been sleeping! Yay! 🤩
Feeling well rested and the sun shining brightly for days has me in high-gear cleaning mode.
I needed to give our upstairs a good cleaning and every day I accomplished a couple of projects.
The projects are things that I knew needed to be done such as high and low dusting.
Our two chandeliers also needed a dusting big time and I set up a CPAP area next to Marty’s side of the bed.
When it was in the low 50s this afternoon I tackled the four upstairs windows.
I was still in a funk and didn’t feel like fall cleaning them plus I didn’t do them in the springtime because I was still unwell.
Honestly, the windows were horrible . I am a clean freak so I was so disgusted when I noticed how much of the glorious sunshine wasn’t getting through the grime.
Now, the windows look fantastic and the rooms are brighter.
After I cleaned the mini chandelier in the bathroom I noticed how the reflections of the crystals danced around the room.
In true Julz fashion, I called Marty to come see. Him and my boys always come to look at things I show them.
I didn’t realize it’s living in the moment which I have been doing for as long as I can remember, not just something new when I pulled my head out of my ass this fall.
Big full moons or perfect crescents. The sky on a clear night. Star gazing, rainbows, big snowflakes, sun rises and sun sets, the smell of a summer rain. You get the picture.
I have a few more projects then I’ll be baking sweets for a tea party I am hosting on Saturday.
Many of you will recognize one of my guests, I’ll be sure to take photos.
Sometimes you just need a warm and gooey grilled cheese sandwich. Today, was that kind of morning.
These single-digit numbers we’ve been waking up to in the mornings make you want warm fuzzy everything.
This is the first winter I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid. I stared winter right in the face and said, “Hi, remember me?”
I was always a summer person but now after a horrendous year, I am appreciative of every season.
I am “wintering” like the nature and animals around me. It’s like a “when in Rome” kind of feeling. A feeling of acceptance.
Nelly is lying on a heated blanket after coming in from doing her business early this morning. She’s no dummy!
Instead of hating to put on winter shit to go out, I am appreciative for my warm fuzzy hat, gloves, scarf, socks and down jacket. I love my winter muck boots and leg warmers.
No, I haven’t gone off my nut, even though I’ve gotten pretty close, I’m slowing down, and looking around, and living in the moment.
Last year, at this time I would have said what a bunch of bullshit like many of you are.
However, when faced with the notion you may be lucky enough to be here for another winter or two, shit changes. Big time.
Last year’s health crisis took its toll on my mind and body; and now it’s showing.
All that stress and anxiety has caused my hair to shed, I hate to use those words “fall out” like crazy.
I’ve lost 50% of my hair all over not in clumps thank God. I am lucky I started with a thick head of hair.
My hair still looks good but it’s thin. Let me tell you it’s been scary as hell with every handful or brush full that comes out.
It has made me cry for weeks on end creating even more stress. My strong thick hair is a part of who I am.
I don’t want to jinx myself but I think it’s finally slowing down. My doctor said it would grow back and I’ll have my thick hair back in no time. 🙏🤞🏼
I had a small bout of psoriasis show up again but I’m showing it who’s boss.
It rears its ugly head when I am very stressed. It started when I was 9 years old, I had a nervous breakdown of the skin.
That was the year we moved away from family and friends, I went to a new school, and my mother turned on me and started treating me like Cinderella.
Right now it’s pretty much under control. I dealt with it for the first two years of the pandemic. I know what to do.
I’ve been exhausted after months and months of stress which I am giving into while I am “wintering.”
Sometimes you just need a grilled cheese sandwich, a kiss on the head, and be told everything will be fine.
Everything will be fine. I haven’t been able to share this until today. I had no idea I would write about it until the words formed easily.
As always, thanks for reading and following me on this rollercoaster of life. ❤️
Me on Saturday night before heading out to a party.
Now that I am back to thinking about food again, I decided to improve the kitchen skills I already have and look at alternative techniques.
When someone has an interview for a chef position in a restaurant, many times they are asked to make eggs.
Eggs are harder than you would think and to get them absolutely perfect is even harder.
I’ve been making soft and hard-boiled eggs the way I watched my parents make them.
I’ve perfected hard boil and 6-minute eggs, but I didn’t even think about soft-boiled eggs.
I loved soft-boiled eggs when I was little, I liked any kind of dippy eggs. The only time I got soft-boiled eggs was when I was sick.
Why? Was it because they are easy to overcook? It could have been.
Was it a pain in the ass to cut the egg in half and scoop the insides into a bowl? Served with buttered toast.
Mmmmm, a good childhood memory. Again, about food. It’s always been about food for me.
I felt like having grits with soft-boiled eggs on Sunday morning and wanted to try a different technique.
I followed a recipe and was shocked at how many different ways people prepare soft-boiled eggs.
I decided on the foolproof 6-minute egg technique that people swear by.
The difference between the way I made soft boiled eggs and the recipe was mine started in cold water, and the new way used boiling water.
My way, when the water came to a rolling boil, the heat was turned off and the pot was covered for two minutes.
The new technique had you add the egg to a smaller amount of simmering water.
You set a 6-minute timer and let the egg cook in the simmering water uncovered.
When the timer goes off, you lift out the egg and put it into an ice bath immediately.
When the egg was cool enough to handle, instead of cutting it in half and scooping out the insides I peeled the egg: easily.
I was skeptical as I placed the egg on top of the creamy grits. I took my knife and opened the egg.
It was perfect and professional looking. I was tickled pink!
There were no shell bits like when you scoop out the insides. Amazing!
The title of this blog post, Fresh Ideas, also refers to hunting for recipes each week.
Let’s face it, thinking of things to make for dinner is the hardest part of cooking. It’s no different for me.
Every week I would search for ideas and inspiration for dinner ideas. I would usually find a recipe from one of my favorite food blogs.
That’s when the lightbulb went off Sunday afternoon. I thought, “Hey dumbass, why don’t you subscribe to your favorite food blogs and have ideas and inspiration in your inbox.”
I subscribed to blogs that cover different cuisines such as vegetarian, ethnic, classic, gluten-free, Italian, and comfort food.
I’m looking forward to challenging myself in the kitchen and using more hard-to-find fresh ingredients used in ethnic cooking, especially in Asian and Indian dishes.
My quest for fresh ideas started with one egg. One perfect egg yesterday morning.
