34

Aren't birthdays funny? I remember being a kid and just loving all the attention. I loved how my mom would make the world come to a stop for me. Balloons, cakes, gifts, smiles ....
Nowadays it's like pulling teeth to get me to answer the phone that day . This year was no different. The fact I've been sick with a cold from hell for over a week I wasn't in the mood for a rip roaring party. Quite the opposite in fact and it was my favorite birthday to date. Woke up early went out to breakfast with the husband. Ate myself silly mostly all day. We sat around all day and watched movies, snuggled on the sofa. Even covered in pug fur and feeling like a sloth it was a damn near perfect day.

I'm loving the cold January weather we are having. Loving sitting at work watching the paparazzi go wild at d list stars. constant entertainment. My goal for 34 is to slow down and notice more things. Top of the list of things blowing my mind as of late ...... Beverly hills has no telephone polls or electrical lines. It's all tucked into alleyways so that the streets look clean. Mind blown it doesn't take much.

food for the soul

i've been sick as a dog, there for i don't have much to report except 

that there is a lot of really bad daytime TV. i feel as tho my brain is rotting. 

today i got up and made soup. i hate soup, but i hate bring sick more.

 i have been really into this lentil soup at the little deli by my work. 

so i thought i would try and copy it. 

its not quite the same but its pretty damn good. the slow cooker is a magical machine.

the nice thing about this soup is that it freezes well... and thats a good thing this is a lot of soup! 

nice to have some reserve for the next round of crud or just a lazy night. 

i served this with a piece of  lightly toasted whole wheat bread  sprinkled with Parmesan cheese 

and butter, also a little sour cream on the husbands. he's a kinda picky this is a little too healthy for him.

nothing a dollop sour cream can't fix. 

here goes

2 cups of brown lentils, rinsed and drained twice 

8 cups chicken stock

1 bay lief

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

6 small potatoes, pealed and cut in half

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic power

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

just a pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon caraway seed

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

fresh pepper to taste

mix everything together in your 5 to 6 quart slow cooker

cover and set to low for 8-10 hours

remove bay lief before you serve...

*just a little side note.....  i like to take my 

immersion blender and just give it a couple of pulses just to thicken it up a bit

it breaks everything up nicely*

the second best thing about slow cooking is your house smells like heaven.

downside crazy neighbors commenting trying to chat me up. 

i'm sick people. it's soup.... buzzzzzz off.

rewind - a year in review.

JANUARY

the new year always feels so fresh, looking back last january who knew 

we were going to have the roller coaster year we had. that night at musso and franks
i was filled with love.

FEBRUARY

fresh off a morning hike/drive in the hills. sometimes you just have to keep your head 

down and your heart up.

MARCH

the only pictures i had of march were of food?
guess we just ate that month away.

APRIL

april, the husbands birthday... 

MAY

every year in may like clock work we wake up to ducks in the pool.

its my most favorite morning of the year. 

JUNE

beautiful beaches of southern californaia. 

JULY

san diego back yards that smell like BBQ'd meat and cold beer make for the 

best 4th of julys yet.

AUGUST

was a hard month for me to say the least. my most favorite person left this earth 

strange thing is he still makes me smile every day. funny how that happens if you keep

your eyes and heart open you can see them all around.

SEPTEMBER

and now the rough patch begins.... dealing with loss and a broken heart can do numbers 

on your loved ones still around in your daily life. i think this is what people call 

DEPRESSED. fighting with the husband, slamming doors. yelling words.
 wishing you could take them back.
resting my head on girlfriends shoulders trying to find the answers
that were at home sitting on our sofa.  

too many late night fights, running away, & hurt feelings.

somehow we stopped fighting. i don't remember how it stopped.

its like the clouds cleared and we got to the root. 

currently on a heavy cycle of watering so the roots don't 

take over again.

OCTOBER

my october was a month of freedom. walking away from a toxic 

environment. choosing me and my needs first. is a intoxicating feeling.

 still reaping the benefits.
 one of the smarted decision's i've ever made.

what took me so long is the real question......

answer:

ego and fear. two thing to work on this year.

NOVEMBER

nothing like a little emergency surgery to slap reality in yo' face.

seeing my husband laying in the ER has to be one of the worst feeling i've had to date.

feeling hopeless and scared. popping xanex like its candy just to not loose my marbles in that small

sterile room. also realizing that we have the best friends in the world. couldn't have made it 

through that day without the friends and family we have in our life.
so grateful everyday.

DECEMBER

cold, clear LA nights, everyday feeling better and better. 

staying home more. cooking up a storm. holding hands again....

having one too many drinks out with friends.
working too hard, playing too hard.
time for a detox. i smell a juice cleanse coming my way
and not in the wine juice form.

JANUARY

 new years this year at musso and franks, a strange man at the bar started chatting up our group of  friends sadly i judged him. he had thick gray hair with piles of dandruff on his thrift store sport coat.

my first impression of this man was creepy. i made my self stop judging and start really listing to what he had to say. i wont bore you with all he had to say only one powerful statement.

my hippy heart was fully listing. he talked about how the last 18 years we have been climbing a mountain and its been a struggle for the most part. this rough 18 year cycle we are on stops tonight  when the clock hits midnight its down hill from here.

life will start to get easy, smooth sailing for the next 18 years. 

i believe that man with the gray dandruff jacket, i believe i was meant to hear that.

the clock hit midnight i leaned over to kiss my husband and things did feel easy. 

this new year is going to be the jam.