A New Routine?

I have said it before and I'll say it again: I hate to clean. Really, really hate it. Most of us do, I'm sure, there are few women who really get off on housekeeping. I also hate a dirty house and my OCD tendencies kick in when things are untidy, I can't function in messes. Since I lack the funds to hire someone to do my dirty work, I've got to don my cleaning gloves and take care of it myself.

Now, I find that a routine, a system, makes the process easier and more manageable. I've sought advice from dozens of houskeeping books/websites/Yahoo lists, and had quite a good system down while I was a full-time homemaker and part-time business owner. Now that I work out of the home, though, I have less time to dedicate to my humble abode and must revamp my routine. So, where to start?

I know that the current "favorite" is the Flylady but I have some issues with her methods, the Leo in me cannot stand to be told what to do a dozen times a day via e-mail reminders. I am however leaning toward my own version of her "control journal," actually inspired by my daughter Kali. I'm still working out the details, though, and find myself at a standstill.

What I'd like from you, dear readers, is some input here. Do you have a system that works fabulously for you? Can you share the secrets to your spotless kitchen counters and gleaming floors? How do you find the time to balance caring for your home and family while still pursuing your own passions? I know it can be done, I've gotten close before. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to bring the castle back to it's shining glory, anybody with me?

Today's Inspiration: Willpower

April 10, 2007
Willpower Partnership
Leo Daily Horoscope
"Today may find you asserting your willpower to accomplish your objectives. By being focused and persistent in the visualization of your goals, you make the first steps toward their creation. Combined with your single-minded actions, you can take the additional steps needed to close the gap between you and your dreams. You may be feeling unrelenting, but there is no need to force the universe to create the life we imagine for ourselves, because it is already on our side. Rather than forcing something into being, we can work with the universe, cooperating in the dance of creation. By not attempting to do everything ourselves, and instead working with the energy of the universe, we are able to make use of the infinite organizing power available to us. Today we work toward our dreams, knowing that focus and trust in the universe are the best possible tools. "

Wow, today's horoscope really hit me! I have been focused and persistent in my goals lately, especially in relation to my health & weight loss. There comes a time in every process when I feel a shift, a little loosening, the struggle gets just a tiny bit easier. I can see a bit of progress, and then I get into the "zone" where I am determined and much less likely to slide back into bad habits. Usually this happens when I start to see the scale move, it's just enough motivation to keep me going. That's where I am this morning, and it's a really good feeling!

My new favorite inspiration, Steve Pavlina, has something to say about willpower as well, but be sure to check out the rest of his article because he goes on to explain how to make willpower work for you, specifically in the realm of dieting.

What Is Willpower?

Willpower is your ability to set a course of action and say, “Engage!”

Willpower provides an intensely powerful yet temporary boost. Think of it as a one-shot thruster. It burns out quickly, but if directed intelligently, it can provide the burst you need to overcome inertia and create momentum.

Willpower is the spearhead of self-discipline. To use a World War II analogy, willpower would be D-Day, the Normandy Invasion. It was the gigantic battle that turned the tide of the war and got things moving in a new direction, even though it took another year to reach VE Day (Victory in Europe). To make that kind of effort every day of the war would have been impossible.

Willpower is a concentration of force. You gather up all your energy and make a massive thrust forward. You attack your problems strategically at their weakest points until they crack, allowing you enough room to maneuver deeper into their territory and finish them off.

Today's Inspiration: Forgiveness

I've been working on forgiveness, and "letting go" lately, so this article on Care2 really hit home with me. I know that by doing this I will become a stronger, happier, more loving person, it does me no good to harbor anger and resentment. Anger and bitterness is so terribly draining, and the more I let go the more energy I have for more important things in life such as loving my family & friends. I don't have to keep the "offending" person in my life anymore, I can choose not to spend time with those who have hurt me deeply and with whom I've decided to part ways, but I need to do so with a peaceful, loving heart.

Move from Blame to Forgiveness

Adapted from Becoming the Kind Father, by Calvin Sandborn (New Society Publishers, 2007).

Shakespeare had it right. In ways both big and small, the failure to forgive kills love and murders beauty. An unforgiving attitude makes life far less loving and beautiful than it could be. Move from blame to forgiveness, and here’s how:

It is much more satisfying to experience your feelings than to blame them on somebody else. You can move through your feelings--even bad ones--to real connection with yourself and others. And because of this you can learn to:

1. become a good friend and a Kind Father (or mother) to myself;
2. give myself encouragement and support, instead of habitual criticism;
3. pay attention to my feelings and identify what it is that I’m feeling;
4. experience my feelings fully, mourning fully;
5. share my heart experience with others and experience the connection of listening to their experience.

Learning to do this will help you become more forgiving. You don’t have to get angry and blame others to escape your feelings--because now you’ll welcome your feelings. In short, establishing a relationship with yourself will help free you from the blaming lifestyle.

The dictionary defines forgiveness: “To stop feeling angry or resentful towards someone for an offence, flaw or mistake.”

Experts tell us that forgiveness is:
1. Letting go of a negative attachment to the past.
2. Letting go of the intense emotions tied to the past event--recognizing I no longer need to hold onto grudges, resentments, hatred and self pity.
3. Recognizing people are different, want and need different things and sometimes hurt each other.
4. No longer blaming the other person for my feelings.
5. No longer wanting to punish, realizing that punishing another will not heal me.
6. Moving on. Freeing my energy, and putting it to better use.

Copyright: Adapted from Becoming the Kind Father, by Calvin Sandborn (New Society Publishers, 2007). Copyright (c) 2007 by Calvin Sandborn. Reprinted by permission of New Society Publishers.

Weekly Weigh-In

The nice little scale reflects a 1 pound loss this week! Not as much as I'd like but I'll surely take it!

My goal this week is to exercise at least 4 days, I know that helps speed my weight loss immensely and just generally makes me feel better physically and emotionally.

Happiness Is...

*big, new, fluffy white bath towels, bought on sale at Macy's last night. They look so pretty stacked in my black & white linen closet!

*Beren cooking breakfast on Sunday morning, adding a splash of Kahlua to my coffee

*developing a long-lost roll of film, being taken back to 3 1/2 years ago, pre-divorce when life was oh-so-different. I miss my girls at that age, but I am so grateful that we're not living that moment anymore. We're all so much happier now.

*a slightly cool breeze blowing through the open window by my desk

*a giant Swallowtail butterfly perched on the Dutchman's Pipe vine, right next to a fat caterpillar. Butterfly season has arrived!

My Dirty Little Secret

I have to tell you about my latest obsession, something I do at least daily and can't seem to get enough of. Ready? I am suddenly, hopelessly in love with the fabulous ladies of How Clean is Your House? Kim and Abbie made me laugh out loud with their antics and inspire me with their cleaning tips. (Who knew that lemons and salt were so powerful?!) Fortuntely I'm a latecomer to their show so I have lots to catch up on, and the power of TiVo so I never miss an episode!

Now, I have been lusting after their ever-so-fabulous rubber gloves and am on a mission to have a pair of my very own. Lo and behold, just this morning I found some! Carolyn's Kitchen carries a whole bunch of adorable vintage-inspired gloves & aprons, right up my alley! Absolutely adorable, Kim & Abbie would definitely approve.

On My Hearth: Penne Rigate with Chik'n

I found this recipe on the box of a Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta box. The original recipe is here, but I've changed things up just a bit to make it vegetarian.

First off, instead of the fresh onion & peppers, I used a bag of frozen mixed peppers & onion I had on hand. Since I'm foregoing chicken for now, I substituted the chicken breasts for Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters™ Chik'n Strips and one other small change is that I used two cans of seasoned diced tomatoes in lieu of the pasta sauce. I followed the rest of the recipe as directed, tho. I must say, it turned out delicious! I'm very pleased with the ease & conveniece of the redux and the final result was a tasty, hearty meal that the vegetarians in my house can also enjoy!

Penne Rigate with Chicken

Ingredients:
1 pkg. RONZONI HEALTHY HARVEST® Penne Rigate
1 each: yellow pepper, onion and garlic clove, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 jar Pasta Sauce (your favorite flavor)
3 grilled or cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or basil

Directions:
1. Cook Penne Rigate according to package directions.
2. Sauté pepper, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in pasta sauce, chicken and parsley. Simmer 2-3 minutes.
3. Serve sauce over Penne Rigate.

Total Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

On My Hearth: Boiled Eggs

Like many others, my hearth will be busy boiling eggs today. I have at least 8 family members who'll most likely want to dye them, and since most of those folks are very artistic, they really get into the process and require many "canvasses" for their art! So I bought 4 dozen eggs today and will commence with the process.

From goodegg.com, here's the recipe for the "perfect boiled egg."

The Classic
Hard Boiled Egg

The simple, classic Boiled Egg, is indeed one of the finest and easiest edible delights known on earth, with just 70 calories, and full of nature’s most perfect form of protein.

While there are many ways of preparing Boiled Eggs, we suggest below the directions for making eggs which are the easiest to peel and which will not have the dark green discolored coating on the yolk (see step 2 for tips to help avoid the green discoloration).

Extremely fresh eggs will not peel easily. In fact, an egg that is just a day or two old is almost impossible to peel. As eggs age, the shells will peel more easily. It is advisable that eggs used for hard cooking (including Easter Eggs) be at least 2 weeks old before cooking for easiest peeling. Hard cooked eggs that are cooked slowly over low heat (and not ‘boiled’) will be more difficult to peel.

Directions for Large Eggs:
1. Place eggs in a saucepan with enough COLD tap water to cover completely by 1 inch. Bring to a ROLLING boil over HIGH heat. Once the water is brought to a rolling boil, PROMPTLY reduce heat to a lower medium boil and cook an additional 10 minutes for a “hard boiled” egg. For a “soft boiled” egg reduce the time by a few minutes.

2. Remove from heat and IMMEDIATELY place eggs under ice cold water or in a bowl of ICED water to chill promptly to help yolks stay bright yellow. Chill for a few minutes in the cold water until the egg is completely cooled. This is an extremely important step which prevents the greenish “ring” from forming on the surface of the yolk over time. If the egg is not chilled immediately after cooking an unsightly dark greenish ring will eventually appear on the outside of the yolk.

3. To peel...crack on all sides, roll egg between hands to loosen shell,and remove shell. Enjoy, with a light sprinkling of salt if desired.

To serve in egg cup, place egg in cup small end down, slice off large end of egg with knife or egg scissors and eat from shell with spoon.

Refrigeration is necessary for hard boiled eggs if they eggs are not to be consumed within a few hours.


Refrigerated boiled eggs, kept in the shell, can be kept for up to 1 week.

Now Playing at the Castle: R. Carlos Nakai

I've been listening to Carlos Nakai for years now, since the 90's when "nature music" was so popular. He simply mesmerizes me with his flute, find it both haunting and uplifting at the same time. Continuing my focus on Native American spirituality, I found this video to be particularly inspiring.

Cast of Characters Part 2

Since I wrote about these two women in my last post, I should probably describe them more completely.

"The story of the Celtic goddess Rhiannon reminds us of the healing power of humor, tears, and forgiveness. The goddess Rhiannon is a goddess of movement and change who remains steadfast, comforting us in times of crisis and of loss."

My best friend, Rhiannon, has known me for 24 years now..before babies, before divorces, when I was first married to Kali's father. I announced my pregnancy on the day of Rhiannon's wedding shower, and it was to her house I would go when I had terrible cravings (for lemons!) and wasn't able to get to the store to fulfill them. She has been my friend through the best of times, and the worst of times. She is one of the few people in the world who know my deepest darkest secrets, my faults and foibles, and love me anyway. During my 1st divorce she introduced me to the hot young "fling" who reminded me of how beautiful and special I was, truly a gift at that time in my life. I was the maid of honor at her 2nd wedding, and she at mine. During my 2nd divorce she sent me a greeting card every single day for weeks & weeks, and would call me incessantly to make sure I'd gotten out of bed, that I was taking care of myself, etc. She helped save me, truly she did, and for that I am eternally grateful. Though we have changed so much over the years, and there are times we don't always see eye to eye, our relatonship prevails. She is more than a friend..she is a sister to me, and I can't imagine my life without her.




Then there's my Mom, who was nicknamed "Sam" by someone years ago, and therefore she wanted to name me Samantha. (My grandmother stepped in and vetoed that, and the rest is history.) Though it had nothing to do with Samantha on Bewitched, I always identified the name with her so here goes. (Besides, "Sam" my Mom did her share of *bewitching* men and can still turn heads wherever she goes!) She is stronger than any woman I've ever met, has taught me everything I need to know about life, about love, about mothering..she made sure that I didn't settle, that I had high standards in everything, that I was always a lady (well, almost always) and that I knew how to fight for what I believe in. From her I got my fericious mothering and my independence, and on a lighter note, my insatiable love of shoes! When I was a teenager she was the "cool mom," driving around in her sexy Camaro, always trim, always stylish, always beautiful. She didn't look a thing like all the other Moms at the private Baptist school, let me tell you! She has always been there for me, no matter what messes I've gotten myself into. She's an incredible mom and grandma and I love her dearly.

So, there you go, two more of the phenomenal women in my life. I am so blessed!