tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52338549890053192452024-03-18T21:10:36.767-07:00 Blue-Green-GoldThese words appeared in a poem and have led me inward and outward since their arrival. These colors are, for me, the filament of connectedness and contain within them the circles of life.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-27341465292888042122014-05-11T07:17:00.000-07:002014-05-11T07:17:27.538-07:00A Meditation of Sorts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQb6k2DUZUP-R3SaEu8TQAnDeZaqCiW_XhyphenhyphenIrDSoeKmfteq2Mq0CLHeCkwEaSGUpm7_gjJRPsFHyZq1RI8K4IGj4iS3UeChbo7XivauEvFfn6_oHf4_M1KH2u5WKJu6PZUOhx85QxXXBv/s1600/20140511_083000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Clover & Blossoms" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQb6k2DUZUP-R3SaEu8TQAnDeZaqCiW_XhyphenhyphenIrDSoeKmfteq2Mq0CLHeCkwEaSGUpm7_gjJRPsFHyZq1RI8K4IGj4iS3UeChbo7XivauEvFfn6_oHf4_M1KH2u5WKJu6PZUOhx85QxXXBv/s1600/20140511_083000.jpg" height="480" title="Clover & Blossoms" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clover and Blossoms</td></tr>
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Yesterday on my morning walk with Butters the air was infused with the heady scent of clover blossoms. Clover always causes me to linger, but this morning even more and the scent had me plucking blossoms and inhaling deeply.<br />
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I reflected on clover and my love for it and on a past weekend that I spent planting and mulching at my sister in laws house. The day was not hurried, I was not hurried, there was no agenda and I often found myself stooped over searching in the clover as we talked and worked. Of course there were bees to be seen, a tiny frog discovered in the mulch, and all the signs around us that spring was reveling in her own beauty. I found myself thinking of other such times as well, at my parents and along walks with Butters and with Alan where clover had figured prominently in the memory of the time. <br />
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The clover causes a shift in my mindset. For me searching in the clover is the pause of gratitude and the delight to be found when we look to explore and revel in the magic the universe so readily offers. It a purposeful pause, a choice to slow down and to notice the details, a meditation of sorts in its own way. Whether or not I ever actually find four leaf clovers does not matter, I am always left with a sense of peace and contentment.<br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-16367442203219603942014-05-04T06:29:00.002-07:002014-05-04T06:29:11.546-07:00Cardamom & Pistachio Cookie Recipe<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMm4hBJMfR4Ulrg11gN2R6uROHLyHZA3vu47vpsNOoS67dpTA1qm7FWS0-2SWCol6Ie7qoYDth8KqX3IM27x_io_q8b4b92lpUSkkzmZ047aQ8Nakn43pkkVE1RADH3nsIDmTqm3icxo8/s1600/20140501_205951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cardamom & Pistachio Cookies" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMm4hBJMfR4Ulrg11gN2R6uROHLyHZA3vu47vpsNOoS67dpTA1qm7FWS0-2SWCol6Ie7qoYDth8KqX3IM27x_io_q8b4b92lpUSkkzmZ047aQ8Nakn43pkkVE1RADH3nsIDmTqm3icxo8/s1600/20140501_205951.jpg" height="640" title="Cardamom & Pistachio Cookies" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cardamom & Pistachio Cookies</td></tr>
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I fell in love with cardamom about two years ago as a delicious addition to homemade almond milk and that love (or slight obsession) has grown to include it in chia pudding, smoothies, the occasional sprinkle in my morning cup of coffee and now baking. It was one of those situations where cardamom kept appearing in my life, first in an article I stumbled upon that said cardamom was actually easy to grow at home, then as an addition to homemade almond milk, and finally it appeared in beautiful green pods piled on top of each other in a large glass jar sitting on a top shelf in a local herb shop. When I saw that glass jar it jolted my memory and I was hooked from that first deep inhalation of the strange but heady scent.<br />
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The cookie recipe was not my creation, but one that I sought out when I recently needed to make cookies for an upcoming Herb Guild Farmers Market sale I was asked to contribute to. I wanted something a little different and thought of making cookies with lemon balm but somehow I found myself searching for cardamom cookies and found these <a href="http://www.deliciouseveryday.com/pistachio-and-cardamom-cookies/" target="_blank">Cardamom & Pistachio Cookies</a>. Now I really want to try making Cardamom Chocolate Chip cookies as I think the cardamom would make a nice compliment to the chocolate, but that will be for another week. These cookies reminded me of short bread, were simple to make and delicious!</div>
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My pistachios were roasted and salted so I cut the recommended amount of salt in half and I thought the cookies were just fine. I refrigerated the dough roll over night and the first few cuts results in a crumbled cookie. After allowing the dough to set for about 10 minutes on the counter the knife slid through clean and the dough still held its shape. If you don't think your cookies are getting brown enough, just check the bottoms. The dough is already a bit golden with the combination of the pistachios and butter so it is hard to tell how brown they are without checking the bottoms. </div>
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<i>What are your favorite herbs and spices?</i><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-79698867453267064042014-04-09T17:04:00.000-07:002014-04-09T17:04:40.630-07:00Around HereAround Here<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudom647Um-JMnT0kgSj15t8ffbXCsNTXK3wLpY2xwKHun3gc4FXAGuByvk1OvYqxx5y_b3vWESWrgswYwWupfI6XoixSqVWBr7ZmrzSfjr_D8csUZjloZjfH1OU1bYDpyHX82slCw6v6F/s1600/Fountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudom647Um-JMnT0kgSj15t8ffbXCsNTXK3wLpY2xwKHun3gc4FXAGuByvk1OvYqxx5y_b3vWESWrgswYwWupfI6XoixSqVWBr7ZmrzSfjr_D8csUZjloZjfH1OU1bYDpyHX82slCw6v6F/s1600/Fountain.jpg" height="640" title="Flower/weed that resembles a fountain" width="480" /></a></div>
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This little flower/weed reminds me of an elaborate fountain.<br />
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Butters and I just returned from a long slow walk around a few city blocks where</div>
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She sniffed and scratched at the earth while I admired the over sized clover and abundance of dandelions.</div>
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The patio door and windows are open and in the distance </div>
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The sky is still blue with gigantic clouds of white framed in a warm tawny back glow from the sun.</div>
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My hip and leg are still aching but my heart feels full and happy because</div>
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I left work on time (Which feels early to me) and the evening feels stolen and special.</div>
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The house is quiet and empty as Alan is working late but in that anticipatory way that is a good empty.</div>
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On the horizon there are visions of</div>
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Painting colorful circles longways against a canvas,</div>
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Ideas to make lotion bars, and<br />
A plot forming to spread flower and vegetable seed all over a semi vacant lot that we frequent.<br />
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<i>I</i> <i>hope your spring evening feels just as special.</i><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-35253737224901785542014-03-30T11:53:00.002-07:002014-03-30T11:53:16.865-07:00Spring Fever<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXk69RIlOMWKMu4T3ErBbhYwJEp1c6ZGuEXsFJteVyXAeVrxjIODgVPpeJDjOJPOuI5reBRMV5WtAlmZKVfIh9Xvy8xVdf3vF_FGs3gY7SrNxpINEJDzBrpqxeXF-RN1d5NCwcdcwXVLsP/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="plants, trees, flowers" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXk69RIlOMWKMu4T3ErBbhYwJEp1c6ZGuEXsFJteVyXAeVrxjIODgVPpeJDjOJPOuI5reBRMV5WtAlmZKVfIh9Xvy8xVdf3vF_FGs3gY7SrNxpINEJDzBrpqxeXF-RN1d5NCwcdcwXVLsP/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" height="640" title="UNCC Botanical Gardens & Greenhouses" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UNCC Botanical Gardens & Greenhouses</td></tr>
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These pictures were taken a few weeks ago on an outing to the botanical gardens and greenhouses of one of the local universities. The sites, smell and weather were amazing that day and made me long for my own land to dig in again. Even without my very own land there is much to be thankful for and in awe of as the city comes alive this spring. <div>
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Here flowering buds are bursting on the red bud, cherry and flowering pear trees and shoots of green are breaking through the dark earth and on many of the limbs of bushes and trees. The clover has returned in full force causing me to pause in search of a lucky clover when I am out and about or on a walk with Miss Butters. It is amazing to just watch the world around me change day by day. <div>
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This year is moving quickly and I can hardly believe it was 4 months ago when I last posted, and what a ominous post that was since I have spent much of the time since then healing. Ocular migraines occurred around the first polar vortex and kept me in their grips for 11 straight days. I finally went to the doctor and thankfully after multiple trips to the eye doctor, medical doctor and several blood tests and an MRI later found out that there was nothing wrong. The only thing I can determine is that maybe these were caused by the barometric changes in the atmosphere. In the wake of of all of this was worry, frustration and severe eye and body fatigue. </div>
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Just as I thought things were back on track an unexplained pain in my left hip has occurred that is just as mysterious. I am on week 5 now of this issue and no amount of stretching, icing, hot baths, turmeric tea, or ibuprofen has provided sustained relief. Last weekend I sobbed and could only see loss and fear. Loss in the knowledge that I was not going to be able to run my upcoming half marathon I had been training for (my first 13.1 trail run) and fear that I may never be able to run again or go on the many hikes that Alan and I have talked of for this spring and summer. This weekend I see more possibility and despite the pain feel stronger and am trying to see this as an opportunity to concentrate more on art and writing while I heal. </div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-77820566383776521422014-01-01T19:12:00.001-08:002014-01-01T19:12:41.721-08:00Happy New Year & a Recipe<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCfFzi1qK2f_julZBiyJlq7fHuC69hhyMAxk81_A8yUlaGgqbyVdz-oZn81G3i4PaB_cmmXaFYbMcgoDYs2ThdvHo0ykqikncXNum5QXT7kQ6419zsfhKmrIi0IiuDOVuXAqcDtF360Tk/s1600/P1030492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCfFzi1qK2f_julZBiyJlq7fHuC69hhyMAxk81_A8yUlaGgqbyVdz-oZn81G3i4PaB_cmmXaFYbMcgoDYs2ThdvHo0ykqikncXNum5QXT7kQ6419zsfhKmrIi0IiuDOVuXAqcDtF360Tk/s1600/P1030492.JPG" height="400" title="Homemade Elderberry Syrup" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homemade Elderberry Syrup</td></tr>
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It is the first day of 2014 and I feel hopeful anticipation for the year ahead. I don't know why but I like the clear line of a new year and a fresh start. Each day we have this opportunity, the chance to begin again, to breathe in the possibility, to bear witness to life unfolding around us and the life unfolding within us but on New Years day it feels even more significant to me.<br />
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Today I began my day at my work table in our shared office/guest bedroom with a cup of coffee and my journal. I wrote about purpose, what I think mine is and how to live it in this coming year. Part of that purpose is healing, myself and others, and part of that purpose is sharing. The sharing part is often hard for me as I second guess myself and concern myself that others will say "on what authority is she saying this". The truth is most of what I share is universal knowledge though, shared as seen through my own experience. In alignment with my desire to live my purpose, and to heal and to share, today I am sharing a recipe for Elderberry Syrup.<br />
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I learned about <a href="http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/elderberry" target="_blank">Elderberries</a> last year when I attended one of several local <span id="goog_1187282747"></span><a href="http://www.millsgardenherbfarm.com/" target="_blank">herb classes</a>. The owner of the farm and teacher of the class mentioned making homemade elderberry syrup for the cold and flu season. The elderberry comes from a small tree/bush and is well known in the herbal community for its ability to boost the immune system preventing and shortening the length of the flue and colds. They are a rich source of bioflavonoids and antioxidants as well as the nutrients potassium, beta carotene, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C. <br />
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It is so funny how once you hear about something of interest, all of a sudden you see and hear about it all around you. I soon found dried elderberries in my favorite local health/grocery store when looking in their bulk section and even purchased a syrup from this store as well when I was sick and looking for homeopathic solutions.<br />
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As Alan has been fighting a cold for 2+ weeks and I felt the symptoms beginning myself, I decided to try making the syrup myself using a recipe from Mountain Rose Herbs. I cut the recipe in half as I purchased the elderberries locally and the store I shop at was running low. After seeing a display of organic elderberry syrup for $21, buying the small amount of dried berries and cutting the recipe in half was a no-brainer. I was low on honey and bought a huge jar for $16 but the organic dried elderberries, cloves, and cinnamon sticks were less than $2.00 total. Even if you don't already have honey on hand this is still a very economical recipe as it produces a lot of syrup (3.5 cups). Some people really love the flavor of the syrup and add it to everything from pancakes to oatmeal but I find it a bit medicinal and am still getting used to it. I think next time I may omit the cloves. Although the cloves and cinnamon may be used as a natural preservative so I need to do a bit more research first.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXyu4lsF1UrTTZiq2mdkt7_cy5zibR3SLNtrYlRGPtlFolhdd6PvSIKqwIFsS2IGl-ajEbdgSYutxsiwyYcQ0s3WFtiTfgAR2jAOYtokiQUEpDr046klDn5KSe7DEreU5br-J5f5Oxm5C/s1600/P1030477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXyu4lsF1UrTTZiq2mdkt7_cy5zibR3SLNtrYlRGPtlFolhdd6PvSIKqwIFsS2IGl-ajEbdgSYutxsiwyYcQ0s3WFtiTfgAR2jAOYtokiQUEpDr046klDn5KSe7DEreU5br-J5f5Oxm5C/s1600/P1030477.JPG" height="300" title="Raw Honey, Elderberries, Cloves, Cinnamon" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ginger, Raw Honey, Elderberries, Cinnamon, and Cloves</td></tr>
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Here is the recipe as found on <a href="http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/newsletter/10/november/elderberrysyrup.php" target="_blank">Mountain Rose Herbs</a> site. As I mentioned, I cut the recipe in half and it still produced approximately 1.5 cups of syrup. <br />
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<i>Please note that elderberry is not safe for pregnant or nursing women, that you should do your own research before taking any types of herbs to ensure that they do not interact with any conditions you have or medications you may take and that honey is not appropriate for children under the age of 2 years old.</i><br />
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Elderberry Syrup Recipe</h2>
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- 1 cup fresh or 1/2 cup dried organic Elderberries (harvest blue or black, avoid poisonous reds)</div>
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- 3 cups water</div>
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- 1 cup raw local honey</div>
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- 1 organic Cinnamon stick, 3 organic Cloves, and organic Ginger (optional)</div>
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Place berries, water, and spices in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Smash the berries to release remaining juice and strain the mixture. (discard cooked berries/cloves/ginger/cinnamon) Allow liquid to cool and stir in honey. Will last for 2-3 months stored in the fridge.</div>
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Hope you have a Happy and Healthy 2014!<br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-22241919489397639672013-12-17T18:57:00.001-08:002013-12-17T18:57:33.142-08:00A Swarm of Dragonflies<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrVZjV7IRY7mPi4Js684M_J4V8AHb-UYowHwn2hAh9rUpsuEQmvfPggjTjjFQyfRJYDO84BWj0MNZxcDd6ZaMhiNM2ibdCZ9SXoxN9PcAFGq4HDtIuSVJ5PNP75YmpJefQFsf-lS-xXwk/s1600/Dragonflies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZrVZjV7IRY7mPi4Js684M_J4V8AHb-UYowHwn2hAh9rUpsuEQmvfPggjTjjFQyfRJYDO84BWj0MNZxcDd6ZaMhiNM2ibdCZ9SXoxN9PcAFGq4HDtIuSVJ5PNP75YmpJefQFsf-lS-xXwk/s1600/Dragonflies.jpg" height="480" title="Playa Del Carmen, Dragonflies, dragonfly swarm" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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On Thanksgiving day Alan and I spent time simply relaxing. There was a leisurely breakfast, a walk on the beach, and a little floating in the water while exploring the reef area with snorkel, mask and fin. Aside from that we lounged in the dappled sunlight under palm trees with each others company, a book (for me) the sound of the ocean and the presence of many curious bobbing dragonflies. I say bobbing because they appeared to bob in the air rather than dart or zoom. I was mesmerized by their beauty and the sheer number of them. There were hundreds if not thousands of dragonflies! I have never seen anything like this before and had to research this phenomenon. Come to find out this is one of those ephemeral events that few are lucky to experience in their lifetime and I was also able to submit my data for collection as part of <em><a href="http://thedragonflywoman.com/dsp/" target="_blank">The Dragonfly Swarm Project.</a></em> </div>
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This is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwLeNwnPlGw" target="_blank">small video</a> I made while watching them by the pool late in the afternoon. There were swarms all over the beach as well. One of the waitresses came by after watching me take pictures and the video and let me know the Spanish word for dragonfly is <em>libélula</em> (LEE-BEH-LOO-LA).</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-1097057314054114802013-12-16T16:49:00.001-08:002013-12-16T16:49:43.927-08:00Souvenirs from Playa Del Carmen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTSGt0pRV2l99q6kjDTeDQmgZQM3mowqLbby5wcnGjKit39-NZDevRlJXxaM29KdJiG6YX4abSGS9MMF5PGlUejBjZwX1HTWMLXXYcFEKj4F_DlnczSbVA5tyRxHWib3LpWsTTMmd0zYm/s1600/P1030474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTSGt0pRV2l99q6kjDTeDQmgZQM3mowqLbby5wcnGjKit39-NZDevRlJXxaM29KdJiG6YX4abSGS9MMF5PGlUejBjZwX1HTWMLXXYcFEKj4F_DlnczSbVA5tyRxHWib3LpWsTTMmd0zYm/s1600/P1030474.JPG" height="480" title="Sea Glass, Fan Coral, Rock" width="640" /></a></div>
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My favorite souvenirs when I travel? Rocks, shells, sea glass, found objects, photographs, local currency...<br />
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We simply had a wonderful vacation in Mexico. Days filled with snorkeling, diving, happy silence, laughter, cappuccino, warm humid days filled with cool breezes, skies filled with dragonflies (yes everywhere-video to come), relaxation mixed with adventure, wonderful food (beans, rice, chicken, guacamole-a few of my favorites), and reconnecting to each other and our natural rhythms.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-48912993983377691002013-11-10T13:55:00.000-08:002013-11-10T13:55:36.264-08:00Green & White: Calm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_Ra3AzZdxL2jj8MkHU5uvXjDdSoojiVpLp0aPiO24kCTWwA34RB7mZUgvtxeEQgdk4uSnjTpWONXXr5NPpEvU-XZXLU_9BaBrP1hrXrRYj6TBJRn3EmY8VP0wYzQ53NwHw8_pYAgtL92/s1600/small-everyday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Every day is all there is" border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_Ra3AzZdxL2jj8MkHU5uvXjDdSoojiVpLp0aPiO24kCTWwA34RB7mZUgvtxeEQgdk4uSnjTpWONXXr5NPpEvU-XZXLU_9BaBrP1hrXrRYj6TBJRn3EmY8VP0wYzQ53NwHw8_pYAgtL92/s640/small-everyday.jpg" title="Joan Didion Quote, Calm Green & White" width="640" /></a></div>
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This week in my <a href="http://taraleaver.com/cse/">Creative Spark</a> class we have been studying color. I tend to be drawn to blues and greens but the mixture of green and white stood out to me this week as a calming mixture. For me, the life and vivacity of green coupled with the blank possibility of white create a balance of peace and calm. This painting was inspired by contemplation through our color exercises designed by Tara, a bar of soap, the lovely script text of a package at Trader Joe's, and the quote by writer Joan Didion included in the painting.</div>
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Below is the original painting before I cropped it to correct the wonky composition.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzcAiq5apq08W28UU9X-TUceH5SomlX2xtPURfyDAmL3f9DU5pH_ygSnOasdH_waoxcfDPBpF4EhHmrwzzU0o3K4MCdTE9ZL9RFd8uuPwY70_YEkO3jdusJ6ReqDEqBZSDhkvspz_lhN9/s1600/everyday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzcAiq5apq08W28UU9X-TUceH5SomlX2xtPURfyDAmL3f9DU5pH_ygSnOasdH_waoxcfDPBpF4EhHmrwzzU0o3K4MCdTE9ZL9RFd8uuPwY70_YEkO3jdusJ6ReqDEqBZSDhkvspz_lhN9/s320/everyday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-71367979289829674702013-10-27T08:29:00.000-07:002013-10-27T08:29:15.501-07:00Then and Now<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiie9xeQmGqFKl4mg0JKZEMHq_Udo1k7-fsNRC0-1Dsnte9UClRohxCsNoD8V1AFD4BMPgDSenkHIosE4dprbMBNYWH1CwEjgIM1Kw3WAtSdoaSMRKzgZa7g7oW3kWRyBv7hcQQB-VOR_bY/s1600/20131006_105828_1+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiie9xeQmGqFKl4mg0JKZEMHq_Udo1k7-fsNRC0-1Dsnte9UClRohxCsNoD8V1AFD4BMPgDSenkHIosE4dprbMBNYWH1CwEjgIM1Kw3WAtSdoaSMRKzgZa7g7oW3kWRyBv7hcQQB-VOR_bY/s640/20131006_105828_1+(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From a recent morning run, I stopped and gently lifted this snail to the grass in the direction it was headed. It reminds me of myself these days...slow and steady and a lover of shells.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It has been a long time since I have visited these pages. Coming back felt hard, and I felt deterred many times from entering this space again. What would I say, where would I start? I even thought of starting all over, at a new address but decided that this space was not done, that there had simply been a pause. And so I begin again (again) starting with a summary of then and of now, a glimpse of the months in-between.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">A new job after an 804 day sabbatical. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The ebb and flow and tides of this new season of life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Running the dark city streets, alone, before the sun began to rise until I lost my nerve. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Closing on the sale of our old home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Joining a gym to take the place of the lost nerve.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Tears of doubt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Lost days that I did not own.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Longing for a garden.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Joining an herb guild.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Taking classes about herbs and fermentation and cheese making.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Finding joy in juicing fresh concoctions of vegetables, herbs, roots, and fruits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Volunteering at a music festival with my sister.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Planting pots of lemon balm, thyme, dill, basil, scented geranium, heirloom tomatoes, and pink vinca's to fill my need to nurture and for green and for life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Joyous moments of gratitude.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Two half-marathons ran with my brother.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Long hikes through the mountains on warm and humid weekends.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">A long labor day weekend at the beach spent reading, sketching, and relaxing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Learning to play golf (and actually enjoying it).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">A birthday celebrated with loved ones and cake.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Trying to recognize the person in the mirror with new lines and droopy eyes and to make peace that the person staring back is really me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Running the dark city streets, alone, finding new nerves and resolve.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Giving myself a birthday gift, Creative Spark, taught by the inspiring </span><a href="http://taraleaver.com/"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Tara Leaver</span></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Unearthing something that was misplaced and learning new methods for play.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Always searching for the light.</span><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-22104777749004454522013-02-05T09:16:00.000-08:002013-02-05T09:16:14.319-08:00Homemade Almond Milk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMvwatu4V6t0bXx8ivDB6QsyfHBqxpopKMZpzLG8Jovj9QL-Yq4YUNKwBOxBNUvCgneXqTbiMheQ5R3V19Og6tN2R011Q1YNEoMOiX9z9lSv1O9p2Ahq-MIifjjhZjGx3WElb9OYVL48G/s1600/P1020102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMvwatu4V6t0bXx8ivDB6QsyfHBqxpopKMZpzLG8Jovj9QL-Yq4YUNKwBOxBNUvCgneXqTbiMheQ5R3V19Og6tN2R011Q1YNEoMOiX9z9lSv1O9p2Ahq-MIifjjhZjGx3WElb9OYVL48G/s640/P1020102.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have wanted to make homemade almond milk for a while now and finally took the leap a few weeks ago. I have since made several batches and while I am still practicing with the amount of water used, flavorings, and the processing method, overall I am pleasantly satisfied with the results!<br />
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I love my coconut milk smoothies but wanted to change things up a bit and all of the store bought almond milk I have found seems to have a few more ingredients and additives that I am not interested in. The method below is just filtered water and almonds along with spices or flavorings of your choice. <br />
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After reading that soaked and sprouted nuts and seeds are better for you (you can read about the reasoning behind this <a href="http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/the-benefits-of-soaking-nuts-and-seeds">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.raw-food-living.com/soaking-nuts.html">here</a>) I soaked my raw almonds for 24 hours before using them in the almond milk.<br />
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<strong>Homemade Almond Milk</strong><br />
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You will need the following<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>1 Cup of Soaked Almonds</strong>, rinsed and drained (Almonds were soaked for 24 hours in 4 cups of water and then drained, rinsed, and drained again)</li>
<li><strong>3-4 Cups of Filtered Water</strong> (Less water equals a richer and creamier milk)</li>
<li><strong>Metal Strainer, Cheesecloth, or Nut Bag</strong></li>
<li><strong>Blender</strong></li>
<li><strong>Containers</strong> for storing finished product</li>
</ul>
Optional Flavorings<br />
<ul>
<li>Vanilla Extract</li>
<li>Cocoa</li>
<li>Ground Cardamon</li>
<li>Cinnamon</li>
<li>Dates</li>
<li>Honey</li>
<li>Maple Syrup</li>
</ul>
Place almonds and filtered water in blender and process on high until well blended and frothy. Place the strainer you are using over your storage container (I used a metal strainer and mason jars) and pour the almond milk into the strainer. You will likely have to do this in batches as the by-product of the milk is almond meal which will build up in the strainer and need to be emptied. Once all of the milk has been strained, you can add the milk back to your cleaned blender and add flavoring of your choice. Experiment with this and see what you like. My favorite blend so far is Almond Milk with Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Cardamon (V.C.C). I used a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of cardamon and a few drops of vanilla per cup of finished milk. I would advise to start off with very small amounts of flavoring as to not take away from the great taste of the milk itself. The first batch I made I used honey and did not like how sweet the milk tasted by itself but loved it in smoothies. The milk stores in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The milk will separate after mixing and should be gently shaken before serving. I also froze a few batches in small jars with great success.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqncOyQ458ykyXVsvml2vCqHabF1JsOBzub1iKBRCP2vXvUu0hgbUIMsLn06s2-Rk6PzXlYkLpRus0xS45rfXyLaNUVjK77GVrkbMGXrji5mbLJqjCdfnIQ6LBP6LJZqIB3T01H_Cy7pZT/s1600/P1020088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqncOyQ458ykyXVsvml2vCqHabF1JsOBzub1iKBRCP2vXvUu0hgbUIMsLn06s2-Rk6PzXlYkLpRus0xS45rfXyLaNUVjK77GVrkbMGXrji5mbLJqjCdfnIQ6LBP6LJZqIB3T01H_Cy7pZT/s320/P1020088.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soaked almonds prior to draining and rinsing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSctQYwUiGVl52qOJLMBB7Iuv5U6iNARx_WYs_ZjMZmocOvPhFg1Sxh_RtPpSVBK12927zRqm4Wy5jk-CwULR3T7v30FjfWu1u8l-o8NRQ3h9xbqhE7UgSqeEDLTMPMpW3tDPG2BXss8q9/s1600/P1020092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSctQYwUiGVl52qOJLMBB7Iuv5U6iNARx_WYs_ZjMZmocOvPhFg1Sxh_RtPpSVBK12927zRqm4Wy5jk-CwULR3T7v30FjfWu1u8l-o8NRQ3h9xbqhE7UgSqeEDLTMPMpW3tDPG2BXss8q9/s320/P1020092.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almonds with and without skins</td></tr>
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When I made almond milk for the first time, I made one batch with skins and one batch without skins. I could not tell any difference in taste so I have made all other batches with skins on.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8dfAIxsMbIqXcq_mxEVMA3mk4VpghEWDkJWp_-p0219KXJtTCj0vIswkfgq7CIq2HrU7m5qg9qk1Jb-WJ9fP6WpyocrHkUF_srvoBYxCJqjrLIZHfbCQx4ZJBBs6nSmgdEwdcQmRQBC-/s1600/P1020098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8dfAIxsMbIqXcq_mxEVMA3mk4VpghEWDkJWp_-p0219KXJtTCj0vIswkfgq7CIq2HrU7m5qg9qk1Jb-WJ9fP6WpyocrHkUF_srvoBYxCJqjrLIZHfbCQx4ZJBBs6nSmgdEwdcQmRQBC-/s320/P1020098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metal Strainer and Mason Jar</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbPMQtUYETatPLhUMXnduINuUAICzzcY7G5A0R94g5BlQ0ULeKmOF2_pnL9DiiDZ01-TxcWgOWERYZGtlrQFrLcSS2n6UDXzLPtLbKCIImO6frWPN_z7cCXNa_OgmVa8IyhHle_XbhjGB/s1600/P1020096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbPMQtUYETatPLhUMXnduINuUAICzzcY7G5A0R94g5BlQ0ULeKmOF2_pnL9DiiDZ01-TxcWgOWERYZGtlrQFrLcSS2n6UDXzLPtLbKCIImO6frWPN_z7cCXNa_OgmVa8IyhHle_XbhjGB/s320/P1020096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almond Meal by-product emptied from strainer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27W0RZFyUxjTPLdwLr7s1Uwt6ctoYj-XNW2_5YoWYmx2veRmmmEBMWVruN6YpzMJkMvearXBzbTdFZ5BVnZBM1lVCbvnxHjVNdoMaS7uj3DgQQAGqtAnQcwk48Swo5v7UgmpnLUluxBLr/s1600/P1020103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27W0RZFyUxjTPLdwLr7s1Uwt6ctoYj-XNW2_5YoWYmx2veRmmmEBMWVruN6YpzMJkMvearXBzbTdFZ5BVnZBM1lVCbvnxHjVNdoMaS7uj3DgQQAGqtAnQcwk48Swo5v7UgmpnLUluxBLr/s320/P1020103.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final Product-Rich and Frothy Almond Milk</td></tr>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-20631708169314626332013-01-16T11:53:00.000-08:002013-01-16T11:53:05.843-08:00Jim Harrison, Poet and Novelist<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JV13btPpyaGtbZg0ZiyLNY0kCUbmBez9FhRlssPZ2zVd-LnxZxnk6uMDSUuOIqs_5PQuqPtvKpPm3Kf63TTR3egfJ4_IMVOVPOfbLkYQa3VbUzqxXg4iXAMmjZmievJfQmxLAPwPOKyU/s1600/P1020034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JV13btPpyaGtbZg0ZiyLNY0kCUbmBez9FhRlssPZ2zVd-LnxZxnk6uMDSUuOIqs_5PQuqPtvKpPm3Kf63TTR3egfJ4_IMVOVPOfbLkYQa3VbUzqxXg4iXAMmjZmievJfQmxLAPwPOKyU/s640/P1020034.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yadkin River from a "walk in the woods" day</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"In a life properly lived, you’re a river. You touch things lightly or deeply; you move along because life herself moves, and you can’t stop it; you can’t figure out a banal game plan applicable to all situations; you just have to go with the “beingness” of life, as Rilke would have it." ~Jim Harrison</span><br />
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This quote comes from a wonderful interview with <a href="http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2511/the-art-of-fiction-no-104-jim-harrison">Jim Harrison</a>, written in 1986 and published in the Paris Review. If you have some time available, grab a cup of hot tea or your favorite cozy beverage of choice and curl into this interview on writing, art, and above all living.<br />
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Here are a few of his poems as well...so gracious to have stumbled upon his work today.<br />
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<strong>Dan’s Bugs</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />I felt a little bad about the nasty earwig<br />that drowned in my nighttime glass of water,<br />lying prone at the bottom like a shipwrecked mariner.<br />There was guilt about the moth who died<br />when she showered with me, possibly a female.<br />They communicate through wing vibrations.<br />I was careful when sticking a letter<br />in our rural mailbox, waiting for a fly to escape,<br />not wanting her to be trapped there in the darkness.<br />Out here in the country many insects invade our lives<br />and many die in my nightcap, floating and deranged.<br />On the way to town to buy wine and a chicken<br />I stopped from 70 mph to pick up<br />a wounded dragonfly fluttering on the yellow line.<br />I’ve read that some insects live only for minutes,<br />as we do in our implacable geologic time.<br />
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<strong>Sunlight</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
After days of darkness I didn’t understand<br />
a second of yellow sunlight<br />
here and gone through a hole in clouds<br />
as quickly as a flashbulb, an immense<br />
memory of a moment of grace withdrawn.<br />
It is said that we are here but seconds in cosmic<br />
time, twelve and a half billion years,<br />
but who is saying this and why?<br />
In the Salt Lake City airport eight out of ten<br />
were fiddling relentlessly with cell phones.<br />
The world is too grand to reshape with babble.<br />
Outside the hot sun beat down on clumsy metal<br />
birds and an actual ten million year old<br />
crow flew by squawking in bemusement.<br />
We’re doubtless as old as our mothers, thousand<br />
of generations waiting for the sunlight.<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Broom</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
To remember you’re alive<br />
visit the cemetery of your father<br />
at noon after you’ve made love<br />
and are still wrapped in a mammalian<br />
odor that you are forced to cherish.<br />
Under each stone is someone’s inevitable<br />
surprise, the unexpected death<br />
of their biology that struggled hard, as it must.<br />
Now to home without looking back,<br />
enough is enough.<br />
En route buy the best wine<br />
you can afford and a dozen stiff brooms.<br />
Have a few swallows then throw the furniture<br />
out the window and begin sweeping.<br />
Sweep until the walls are<br />
bare of paint and at your feet sweep<br />
until the floor disappears. Finish the wine<br />
in this field of air, and return to the cemetery<br />
in evening and wind through the stones<br />
a slow dance of your name visible only to birds.<br />
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<div class="author">
<strong>Debtors</strong><br />
<br />
They used to say we're living on borrowed<br />
time but even when young I wondered<br />
who loaned it to us? In 1948 one grandpa<br />
died stretched tight in a misty oxygen tent,<br />
his four sons gathered, his papery hand<br />
grasping mine. Only a week before, we were fishing.<br />
Now the four sons have all run out of borrowed time<br />
while I'm alive wondering whom I owe<br />
for this indisputable gift of existence.<br />
Of course time is running out. It always<br />
has been a creek heading east, the freight<br />
of water with its surprising heaviness<br />
following the slant of the land, its destiny.<br />
What is lovelier than a creek or riverine thicket?<br />
Say it is an unknown benefactor who gave us<br />
birds and Mozart, the mystery of trees and water<br />
and all living things borrowing time.<br />
Would I still love the creek if I lasted forever?</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-28129854714136241422013-01-05T10:26:00.000-08:002013-01-05T10:26:25.049-08:00A Walk in The WoodsA walk in the woods was just what I needed...to once again feel that I too belonged in the universe. Amazing how the trees and leaves and rocks and breezes and blue skies can do that.
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-24245724299196586942013-01-04T11:16:00.000-08:002013-01-04T11:18:14.951-08:00Just Floating AlongThe new year has arrived and I feel unprepared, somewhat lost and very uncertain at the moment. I am just now feeling a bit healthier after battling the flu since Christmas evening. Each day I have woke up and felt a bit better only to find myself exhausted and congested by late morning. And I still have not made it back to my home yet as my sister in law needed help this week with her dogs so I am in their home away from the anchoring of books and paint and bits of projects.<br />
<br />
The sun is shining today and since I finally found the camera that had been tucked away by Alan for safe keeping during our move, I think I will head out with Butters for a walk in one of my favorite parks. Perhaps there amongst the sunshine and trees and little wild things I will find the rhythm in my heart I know is missing. Everything is not ok in my universe but somehow I know I will be ok, and that feeling is making all the difference in the world.<br />
<br />
Here are a few other things that I have felt drawn to the past few days:<br />
<br />
This blog on herbal remedies: <a href="http://blueridgeschool.org/blog/2013/01/03/herbs-for-muscle-pain">http://blueridgeschool.org/blog/2013/01/03/herbs-for-muscle-pain</a><br />
<br />
This yoga video: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcC8hZPwj6w">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcC8hZPwj6w</a><br />
<br />
This abstract painter: <a href="http://www.nicholaswilton.com/">http://www.nicholaswilton.com/</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><em>Wishing you a day of found rhythm and your very own heart song.</em></span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-42912242214771464052012-12-19T12:09:00.000-08:002012-12-19T12:09:07.854-08:00This One Wild and Precious Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finally got around to adding one of my most favorite lines of poetry (from Mary Oliver's <em>The Summer Day</em>) to canvas and know that this will be one of many works I add for inspiration in my home. I love poetry and quotes and special strings of words that arouse my spirit and find that all too often I keep them hidden in the pages of my journal where there are not reflected upon as often as I would like. Now I can take my favorite ones and rotate them and even give them away as they feel called to be with someone else that needs them.<br />
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This morning after a long walk with Miss Butters I sat down with a cup of heavily creamed but still quite strong coffee and Susannah Conways workbook,UNRAVELLING THE YEAR AHEAD 2013 (which also spends time reflecting upon the current year). Please check out this link for yourself and make time for this wonderful exercise...I promise you will find all kinds of secrets within your soul just waiting to be written upon the page: <a href="http://www.susannahconway.com/2012/12/2013-workbook/">http://www.susannahconway.com/2012/12/2013-workbook/</a><br />
<br />
I needed this reflection after the past 3 weeks of packing and moving and travelling back and forth between homes. A new family has moved into our old home and I have fingers crossed that in the new year this will be their new home, full of their new dreams. It is another chapter in my life, and a huge one in my married life, that is now over. Alan built the home for us right after we were married and we had many dreams of the life that would be lived there, some of which came to be and some that are still to be realized and written. <br />
<br />
Writing about the year and gently reflecting upon it helped me to seek closure and celebration for this beautiful and messy life. This afternoon feels lighter somehow and there is the taste of possibility and a vision of a new path forming in my mind for our future. I dream of a bungalow near the sea with an herb garden and a vegetable garden in lieu of a lawn. There is an idea of community involvement and community gardens and paintings hung in cafes. There are renewed dreams of a child and morning walks and evening lullaby's. There is a sense of hope that I will find the truest sense of love and belonging <em>within myself</em> and there is a vision of a book being written on the same table shared with paints and bobbles of other creations. <br />
<br />
<em>I wish you the warmest of holidays snuggled up with your favorite loves and the bright possibility of an abundantly wild and precious New Year. xoxo</em>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-47760656684857223132012-11-05T14:00:00.000-08:002012-11-05T14:01:25.475-08:00A Poem from May<span lang="EN"></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">
<strong></strong> </div>
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<strong></strong> </div>
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<strong>Drift Seeds</strong></div>
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</div>
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At a stoplight entering downtown</div>
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on a late afternoon in May</div>
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I spot downy drift seeds floating from the sky.</div>
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</div>
<br />
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At this intersection </div>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">
old majestic trees give way </div>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">
to stone, steel, and brick.</div>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">
</div>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" dir="LTR">
I do not know the origin of these fluffy orbs of life</div>
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or even what they will grow to be.</div>
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I only know they cause me to pause and wonder.</div>
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</div>
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Do the other passengers and drivers and walkers </div>
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see with the same eyes and heart?</div>
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Will the stoplight camera on the corner</div>
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capture this unfolding of life?</div>
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</div>
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All around, so much that we take for granted.</div>
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Life continues to open and close as a breath,</div>
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indifferent to the pavement or time or passerby. </div>
</span><br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-9330652528625699302012-10-17T13:18:00.002-07:002012-10-17T13:18:58.050-07:00Days Thirteen And Fourteen: Favorite Things-Painting and Poetry<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe36kuv025PPoYL3w-V2MP79IecryR8tjWw0I39psbO_qTyFklOUk2Bn4vSmyrel_jP5YCVMquTWovxkLz69JsuBu8tXmjbsW2K6w1Zj6_mKCBEktnqocEWZ7MypcxonfxwZzfiIfnfHP8/s1600/P1010857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe36kuv025PPoYL3w-V2MP79IecryR8tjWw0I39psbO_qTyFklOUk2Bn4vSmyrel_jP5YCVMquTWovxkLz69JsuBu8tXmjbsW2K6w1Zj6_mKCBEktnqocEWZ7MypcxonfxwZzfiIfnfHP8/s640/P1010857.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Few of My Paintings and Books of Poetry</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Even though I disappeared for a few days and this is technically day 17, I wanted to finish this series with two more of my favorite things, Poetry and Painting. By the way, day 13 was spent perusing aisle after aisle of books on fiction, poetry, geography, field guides, crafts, and cooking at a local used book store. My neck hurt a little after over two hours of craning it to the left and right to read all of the book spines. I left empty handed but with a head full of ideas and headed to a craft store to pick up a few tubes of paint and a new canvas. On my way to the check out (after fighting the "I want's" for new journals and more paint I didn't need but wanted) I spotted two books on painting and stopped to check these out. I had heard of both of these books (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brave-Intuitive-Painting-Let-Bold-Unfold/dp/1592537685">Brave Intuitive Painting</a> by Flora S. Bowley and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mati-Rose-McDonough/e/B0071R5KSC">Daring Adventures in Paint</a> by Mati Rose McDonough) and have been eager to check them out. After flipping through both books, I decided I would get Flora Bowley's book since I had taken an online painting class with Mati already but was new to Flora's work. I had a 20% coupon that made the purchase even more attractive and decided this would be my birthday gift to myself. Day 14 (my birthday) was spent enjoying the gift of time with my family over a shared meal at my mother and dad's house. We had lasagna, a huge fresh salad and chocolate cake with chocolate icing topped with roasted hazelnuts.<br />
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Both the reading and the writing of poetry have long been a favorite of mine. After years of dormancy I began writing poetry again after attending a retreat and taking a workshop with the most wondrous <a href="http://www.susanwooldridge.com/">Susan Wooldridge</a>. What a gift she gave me in finding this lost piece of myself! Reading poetry is a balm to my soul and a reminder that I am not alone no matter how wretched I may feel at times. I initially fell in love with Whitman and then Rumi through the translations of Coleman Barks. These days I find joy and solace in the works of Mary Oliver and John O'Donohue. It is hard to explain how a poem can move you and change you, but it can, and will. This poem by Mary Oliver is one that stays always near the surface of my thoughts, the last two lines a question worth answering again and again :<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The Summer Day</strong></span><br />
<div class="author">
<strong>by </strong><a href="http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/author.php?auth_id=1234"><strong>Mary Oliver</strong></a></div>
<div class="author">
<strong> </strong></div>
<!-- (from <em>House of Light</em>)
--><!-- END list work, authors, books --><strong>Who made the world?</strong><br />
<div class="work">
<strong>Who made the swan, and the black bear?</strong><br />
<strong>Who made the grasshopper?</strong><br />
<strong>This grasshopper, I mean—</strong><br />
<strong>the one who has flung herself out of the grass,</strong><br />
<strong>the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,</strong><br />
<strong>who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—</strong><br />
<strong>who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.</strong><br />
<strong>Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.</strong><br />
<strong>Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.</strong><br />
<strong>I don't know exactly what a prayer is.</strong><br />
<strong>I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down</strong><br />
<strong>into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,</strong><br />
<strong>how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,</strong><br />
<strong>which is what I have been doing all day.</strong><br />
<strong>Tell me, what else should I have done?</strong><br />
<strong>Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?</strong><br />
<strong>Tell me, what is it you plan to do</strong><br />
<strong>with your one wild and precious life?</strong><br />
<br />
I began painting about 2 years ago when I signed up to take an online painting course, <em>Get Your Paint On,</em> taught by Lisa Congdon and Mati Rose McDonough. With the exception of a few items (a mannequin face and wooden boxes) that I painted for a friends store years ago, I had not painted since high school. I loved the techniques taught in this class and the images that began to appear in my work. While my work is not purely intuitive (I generally go in with an idea) I still see in retrospect how the subjects I painted were reflective of what I was feeling at the time. Two of my favorite paintings, the Seahorses, were reflective of our struggle with fertility. The dragonfly that I painted around the same time symbolized not only how these creatures were appearing everywhere I went but also served as a totem of sorts for the change and deeper thinking that was taking place in my life. The painter that has long inspired me for his brilliant color, texture, and emotion is Vincent Van Gogh. <br />
<br />
These days I have been contemplating combining words and paint on canvas because there are quotes and lines from poems that I want to have in front of me as a reminder and prompt. The last two lines of The Summer Day poem will be my first combination. <br />
<br />
<em><strong>I would love it if you shared your favorite poets and poems and painters and paintings too.</strong></em></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-9810121281628739432012-10-12T20:20:00.001-07:002012-10-12T20:20:19.688-07:00Day Twelve: Favorite Things-Treasure Hunting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GWQR3a4qjzYdHcoNEsNBO68QmBxi9ii4MiaBYs-TfFRmOayVnrn_jLtDo5K3tAbV0xNkHkAgHhzjgeLvopva4adOKTPu-713pzP1HsM0_LBkQFCx8Ovr1hgoxLVYrjhSbm3iUbpKiNQh/s1600/IMG_20121012_225738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GWQR3a4qjzYdHcoNEsNBO68QmBxi9ii4MiaBYs-TfFRmOayVnrn_jLtDo5K3tAbV0xNkHkAgHhzjgeLvopva4adOKTPu-713pzP1HsM0_LBkQFCx8Ovr1hgoxLVYrjhSbm3iUbpKiNQh/s640/IMG_20121012_225738.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Few of This Years Found Objects </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Treasure Hunting is a daily activity and one that I relish. As a child I was the one enlisted to find things in our household when they were lost and usually located the lost item in record time. I loved combing through the many drawers, cabinets and closets in my grandparents home and would routinely drag out items that I found wanting to know what they were, where they came from and to show the rest of the family (My mother, brother, grandmother and grandfather) what I had found. Perhaps because I had such an intimate knowledge of the inventory of our home is why I was so good at locating our lost objects. I frequently found money in the grocery store aisle or right outside of the store as well. <br />
<br />
To this day treasure seems to find me as much as I find it. I find it in a four leaf clover or a feather along my path, in the fortune inside the carefully folded cookie and in the comic strip wrapped around the slice of gum. Treasure is a pair of pants that fits like they were tailored just for me located at the thrift store, or the perfect book of poetry found at the used bookstore, signed by the author. Along my daily walks I often find earrings, dimes, and pennies, and hand written notes on tiny slips of paper. And I have jars and bowls full of shells and rocks from the beaches and creeks I have visited over the years.<br />
<br />
Do you Treasure Hunt outdoors or in thrift and consignment stores? What are some of your favorite finds?Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-56644410791868565662012-10-11T17:30:00.000-07:002012-10-11T17:30:19.162-07:00Day Eleven: Favorite Things-Questions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0w_ItcDV5S0RGszIEc_Z45Shs-djA0y-IkAza4-fdRLHONht2OKJxfKxJLMNAtNrk_gcMgW2cZULlgruxjHGaVKzl78NKN_Rai0LgVeUUYrlm5Iabt7pSJI8u8adg1gGGPgX8IeeLAn7/s1600/P1010843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0w_ItcDV5S0RGszIEc_Z45Shs-djA0y-IkAza4-fdRLHONht2OKJxfKxJLMNAtNrk_gcMgW2cZULlgruxjHGaVKzl78NKN_Rai0LgVeUUYrlm5Iabt7pSJI8u8adg1gGGPgX8IeeLAn7/s640/P1010843.JPG" title="Mixed Media Painting and Words-What Brings you Light" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My unfinished mixed media painting answering the question, <em>What Brings You Light?</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I like questions, more so when I am the one asking them than when the tables are turned. It almost always makes me feel like a spotlight is shining on me and unless I really feel comfortable with the person asking the question, it feels too much like a test and pressure and my mind goes blank or blurts out goofy answers. But when I am the one asking the question of myself, well that feels different and illuminating and the question becomes a path paved with my own truth. <br />
<br />
A particular question that resonates with me is <em>What Gets You Out of Bed in The Morning</em>? I think that while the core of the answer may stay the same, it can also change as your life changes. When I first read this question I wrote it on a sticky note and posted it directly on my computer so I would be forced to answer it every morning before I stumbled blindly into my day. I never could come up with a good one-liner answer either. I loved this question so much because I had the hardest time wrapping my head around an answer that was true for me. My answer was a run on sentence of sorts. And as I was doing a lot of self-work at the time this question then became <em>What Do You Want to Accomplish Today</em>? One particularly blue day when I felt lost and unanchored the question evolved to <em>What Brings You Light? </em><br />
<br />
For days and even weeks every time I came across a word or phrase that described what brought me light I cut it out and placed it on a large square black foam board. I loved watching the words accumulate and build into their own mosaic story. And this question is a re-set button of sorts for me, a reminder to seek the light and the things that bring me light when I feel overwhelmed or that darkness is encroaching. I still have not finished this piece either I assembled all the words in the middle of a swirly sunshine and I think that each swirly ray will eventually be covered in answers to this question as well.<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>What Brings <span style="font-size: x-large;">You</span> Light?</strong></span></em><br />
<br />
Here are a few links to other questions that I have also found helpful:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://personalexcellence.co/blog/101-questions-to-ask-yourself/">http://personalexcellence.co/blog/101-questions-to-ask-yourself/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Martha-Becks-20-Questions-That-Could-Change-Your-Life_1/1">http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Martha-Becks-20-Questions-That-Could-Change-Your-Life_1/1</a>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-27613010732504503692012-10-10T18:19:00.001-07:002012-10-10T18:19:17.414-07:00Day Ten: Favorite Things-CoconutMmmmmmm...COCONUT...I love the way it smells and the way it tastes.<br />
<br />
I have loved coconut since I was a little girl and my grandmother would share with me her stash of <a href="http://www.oldtimecandy.com/coconut-neapolitans.htm">Brach's Neapolitan Coconut candies</a>, which I just found out have been discontinued. <br />
<br />
One of my favorite perfumes, <em>Ooh-La Hula</em>, that had the perfect mixture of coconut, jasmine and neroli was also discontinued.<br />
<br />
Evidently not everyone shares the same love for coconut that I do. <br />
<br />
Here is how I enjoy Coconut products:<br />
<ul>
<li>Coconut milk (I usually buy canned but have also <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/how-to-make-coconut-milk/">made it from whole coconuts</a> and frozen it)</li>
<ul>
<li> In my daily Coconut Milk-Blueberry-Banana-Almond Butter Smoothie </li>
<li> In place of water when cooking rice for a little sweetness and added layer of flavor when adding rice to stir fry.</li>
</ul>
<li>Coconut Oil (Unrefined)</li>
<ul>
<li>As the oil of choice for roasted sweet potatoes</li>
<li>Melted and rubbed over a whole chicken for roasting</li>
<li>As a moisturizer for skin</li>
<li>In my bath fizzies</li>
</ul>
<li>Shredded Coconut (Unsweetened)</li>
<ul>
<li>Mixed with sliced bananas, thawed berries, almond butter, and raw cacao</li>
<li>Over greek yogurt with cinnamon and walnuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqw-beMijtrbYs2HcAc2TRprzjz_A5w0_ctOQXnE9M69i7vvSvq1ThDLOVe49gQexcoJp9Y2SBKUu4PXP1ZqwAdBqUVGon1zIDiEmPyg1RhdlD3kVA05w8WFHtmy4ugsPZ33RL4M7TLEp/s1600/P1010816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqw-beMijtrbYs2HcAc2TRprzjz_A5w0_ctOQXnE9M69i7vvSvq1ThDLOVe49gQexcoJp9Y2SBKUu4PXP1ZqwAdBqUVGon1zIDiEmPyg1RhdlD3kVA05w8WFHtmy4ugsPZ33RL4M7TLEp/s640/P1010816.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Coconut Milk-Blueberry-Banana-Almond Butter Smoothie </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8-10 Ounces of Coconut Milk</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8-10 Ounces Frozen Blueberries</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Whole Banana</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Heaping Tablespoon of Almond Butter</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Seed </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Tablespoon Wheat Germ </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds (Optional-When I add these I soak them in coconut milk for 15 minutes)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Add all ingredients to your blender and mix until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!</span><br />
<br />
Warning...the blueberries may leave little specks in between your teeth from the shredded skins and seeds. Check your teeth before leaving the house or you may get some funny looks. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-62518769209088011862012-10-09T19:04:00.002-07:002012-10-09T19:04:27.227-07:00Day Nine: Favorite Things-Books<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRATNty_4jlZbn4YIuuNtsM86WA0OJKGnqywXx75DFzEQADQgTR7BwxpqT8XG2MMwUIDRfLInKWj3KCLj5h8QIroII6GVRXFsz9e_QTBHWmYND8w9_7qIDXQxvBVk18WvAItjfQ9NH5rW/s1600/P1010838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRATNty_4jlZbn4YIuuNtsM86WA0OJKGnqywXx75DFzEQADQgTR7BwxpqT8XG2MMwUIDRfLInKWj3KCLj5h8QIroII6GVRXFsz9e_QTBHWmYND8w9_7qIDXQxvBVk18WvAItjfQ9NH5rW/s640/P1010838.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Recent Picks from the Library</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em>“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.” <br />― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">A book is a treasure chest waiting to be opened, or maybe a treasure map itself. It is an invitation for a journey somewhere unknown, largely created by our imagination. When we open a book we are bound to meet ourselves in it somewhere. In truth and in fiction, one can find versions of ourselves we never even knew existed and ones we have longed to become. We see paths not taken, some filling us with regret, some with the sigh of thankful relief.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Reading has been a life long pleasure, encouraged at an early age from a Mother and Grandfather who read much. While my brother and I shared many books lined up on a little black hand-painted bookcase, the first books that were all mine were the Laura Ingles Wilder series. This was the first time I can think of that I found myself, or a self that I wanted to explore inside the pages of a book. And while the past few years I have not read as much as years previous, books and the magic inside them still fill me with delight. A day at the library or bookstore, perusing shelf after shelf, picking up a book here and there and seeing which ones speak to me is my idea of a perfect day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The books in the picture above are ones I picked out this month at the library: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kaleidoscope-Ideas-Projects-Spark-Creativity/dp/1581808798"> Kaleidoscope</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349833457&sr=1-1&keywords=born+to+run">Born to Run</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Project-Renewment-First-Retirement-Career/dp/0743299485/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349833514&sr=1-1&keywords=project+renewment">Project Renewment</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Powerhunch-Living-Intuitive-Marcia-Emery/dp/1582700656/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349833549&sr=1-1&keywords=powerhunch">Powerhunch</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Sea-Work-Pilgrimage-Identity/dp/1573229148/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349833591&sr=1-1&keywords=crossing+the+unknown+sea">Crossing the Unknown Sea</a>. I am almost finished with Born to Run (highly recommended if you are a runner or not-it is a thrill of a read) and about half way through Kaleidoscope. The book on Intuition is next on my list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Currently my favorite types of books are historical fiction, autobiographies, books on the natural world, poetry, shared books between friends, and books about whatever subject I currently find passionately interesting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">What types of books do you like to read? Do you have any recommendations?</span></em>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-65889088238699183112012-10-08T16:45:00.000-07:002012-10-08T16:45:22.092-07:00Day Eight: Favorite Things-Awareness<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you see. Henry David Thoreau</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfH1Um5mPUXK_qQ5hS7wgaVWdhlOD3KIoTn0P1GySuzhTfHg3oHnJ7KskOnxv1XWuKds-DsrXBrOPThmfPQ2446giBsCe8cXY3BJSqqFmDwpybc2MFMkF6I7sKULuLuiEIWbe_qVzic6r/s1600/IMG_20121006_082500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtfH1Um5mPUXK_qQ5hS7wgaVWdhlOD3KIoTn0P1GySuzhTfHg3oHnJ7KskOnxv1XWuKds-DsrXBrOPThmfPQ2446giBsCe8cXY3BJSqqFmDwpybc2MFMkF6I7sKULuLuiEIWbe_qVzic6r/s640/IMG_20121006_082500.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning Run: Fall Light flooding the Earth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">
This life goes by so fast and it is easy to get
so caught up in to do lists and in tomorrow and next week and even
yesterdays that we miss what is right in front of us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">A wild flower pushing up out of the cracked concrete sidewalk
teaching us lessons of resilience and determination and beauty in unexpected places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A shimmer of
light higher in the trees indicating fall is here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The look from a pet, child, lover or friend as they
stare at us in longing that goes unnoticed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">And it can be just as much what we don't feel as it can be what we don't see. We don't feel gratitude because we feel scarcity because everything is moving so fast. We don't feel love from the pet, child, lover or friend because we are so busy getting from one thing to the next until we fall into bed and get up and start all over again.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I did this for years. Oh every once in a while I would catch a glimpse of what seemed to be a still life all around me, a parallel universe of sorts and when I saw it I was often filled with a longing that scared me. At times (even still)I have an all or nothing personality so I had a hard time incorporating down time and rest and awareness in my old routine. It is now a part of everyday and it too helps ground me in the present and be thankful for this very moment. I take daily walks and runs and purposefully listen, look, smell and hear all that I can about my surroundings. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This evening, or tomorrow morning, or on your your way to work, or to the coffee shop, or lunch please take the moment to see life differently
by doing life differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Make a conscious effort to put away the cell phone or book or radio or i-pod or whatever it is that is distracting you (pacifying you), and just breathe and listen. Listen to the hum of life around you. What do you hear? Are those crickets? Can you hear the rustle of fall leaves through the trees?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">What do you smell? Could it be the earthy and dusty crispness that comes from cooler weather and the leaves changing from green to gold?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it bacon wafting out to the street from the open windows of your neighbor during a morning walk?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Or is it your own cup of coffee you are savoring quietly and with intent on a little corner of carpet with your legs crossed indian style as you wake up to today and all its possibilities? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>What do your eyes notice today that you have overlooked before? Is the light flooding into the room at a certain tilt that always fills you with a particular happiness that you have not recognized until this very moment? What colors are filling the earth these days; what color are the leaves, what flowers are blooming, is the sky a particular shade of blue? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Take a
different route to work or leave at a different time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you work from home, then work from a
coffee shop, café, or park for the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
Or maybe you can g</span>et up just 15 minutes earlier and arise with the thought that today is
a new beginning, a brand new day and all yours for the taking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Smile at each person you come into contact
with today and really notice them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get
out of your head (I know it is so hard to do) and look all around you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I don’t guarantee this will change your life, just that you will be more aware of your life and present to it and that with practice a more active participant in it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><em>What do you do in your own life to practice awareness?</em></span></span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-74327079255267078672012-10-07T13:03:00.000-07:002012-10-07T13:03:01.594-07:00Day Seven-Favorite Things-Cooking<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBxWXE87zLJ7Pg-97bE4MIoguOv9FP1bG8hy8KmcxKTRbK97KJJDfSumFPlrFN8wLGs8qyO1VIWfEwCMpWIOs1a4idshYcKrUDvRIg1tWIl4WyXHt0-wmw5upNd54VRz6do6zchoDfCBc/s1600/P1010737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBxWXE87zLJ7Pg-97bE4MIoguOv9FP1bG8hy8KmcxKTRbK97KJJDfSumFPlrFN8wLGs8qyO1VIWfEwCMpWIOs1a4idshYcKrUDvRIg1tWIl4WyXHt0-wmw5upNd54VRz6do6zchoDfCBc/s400/P1010737.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Vegetable Soup Ready for the Freezer</td></tr>
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I really enjoy cooking; creating a meal, knowing what is in my food, feeding others, and trying new recipes. It hasn't always been this way and for (too) many years we ate out and existed on fast food and frozen stuff. I cooked every other weekend or so or when we had company but there was nothing regular about it. Of course our schedules were not regular for a long time either with Alan in night classes and me working 10+ hour days five days a week. <br />
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So when I took a break from working for a paycheck I decided cooking would help us be healthier and save money. After scouring a bunch of blogs I discovered the best thing to do was to develop a meal plan for every night (some even have lunch and dinner plans) and to build your grocery list from there. It did not take me long to get the hang of this and to really appreciate the plan. Almost two years later I still make a plan and often feel lost and make not so good choices when I don't have one ready. I just check out other meal planning blogs and recipes and a few sites and incorporate other tried and true favorites and make a list of 5-7 meals. Then each morning I think about what we are going to have based on how long it takes to make a recipe and what we have going on that week.<br />
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Here are a few of my favorite sites for meal plans and recipes:<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.mealplanning101.com/">She</a> has great meal plans, recipe and cook book reviews and lovely photos.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.wholeliving.com/145336/recipes">They</a> have simple and seasonal recipes as well as quite a few gluten free ones too.</li>
<li><a href="http://search.realsimple.com/results.html?type=&Ntt=meal+plans&hdr_search_btn.x=0&hdr_search_btn.y=0">This</a> site also has simple and seasonal recipes as well as meal plans.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.paleoplan.com/recipes/">This</a> is a great site for Paleo recipes which also happen to be gluten free.</li>
<li>I just discovered this <a href="http://www.whatigather.com/">site</a> recently and she shares her recipes and has meal plans too.</li>
</ul>
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Here is a typical meal plan for our house for the week with links for a few of the recipes (which will link up with other sites I use):<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Stir-Fry with Rice, Quinoa, or </span><a href="http://www.elanaspantry.com/cauliflower-rice/"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Cauliflower Rice</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2011/08/salmon-with-sweet-spicy-rub-and-cauliflower-rice/"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Salmon Filet's</span></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and </span><a href="http://www.mealsmatter.org/recipes-meals/recipe/46636"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Spicy Cilantro Slaw</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-chicken-recipe/index.html"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Roast Chicken</span></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">, Green beans, Roasted Potatoes</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Mushroom and Tomato Sauce over</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1dcMKCaXWw"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Spaghetti Squash</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=9250634"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Meat Loaf</span></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">, Cauliflower Rice, Slaw</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Tacos, </span><a href="http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Green-Poblano-Rice-Recipezaar"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Green Rice</span></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">, Spicy Black Beans</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></div>
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<em>How do you plan your meals for the week? Please feel free to share your own favorite recipes, ideas, or links to meal planning ideas.</em>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-85816669256981749572012-10-06T14:00:00.002-07:002012-10-06T14:00:49.921-07:00Day Six: Favorite Things-PhotographyAnother of my favorite things is taking pictures. For me, photography is another way of connecting to the life around me. It can be a sliver, a microscopic taste, a vast ocean of nothing or everything, containing the frailty and tragedy as well as the miraculous glorious joy of life. It is a tiny time capsule created by a captured instant that catapults the viewer into a rich inner world of association, the interpretation created by the layers making up the viewer and their unique experiences and beliefs.<br />
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Most of my photos tend to be of nature, moments when I am out walking, running, working in the yard or traveling and are taken with a simple point and shoot camera or my cell phone. I have not yet developed a knack for taking photos of others although I do snap quite a few of these too. I generally create a folder for each month and save all the pictures I take to that folder, the exception being for special trip or excursions that have their very own folder. <br />
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The pictures are a diary for me and as soon as I see them I am transported back to the moment, no words required. Here are a few of my favorite photos.<br />
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<em>What does photography mean to you? Please feel free to share a link to your own work in the comments section below.</em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhif9vp4aKRFjR6k6ch1carF6sqrUiFw223zu-moE2ShfgCTzp1HG5IvUPmnc-9pkxN9qCTNLRUg1YUuZ3kgVF-h7szpExRDbnw79q3ZqH3KhOhL59Ha7na_UW18iBN2KOmI57b2GdBelS-/s1600/IMG_20121006_091110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhif9vp4aKRFjR6k6ch1carF6sqrUiFw223zu-moE2ShfgCTzp1HG5IvUPmnc-9pkxN9qCTNLRUg1YUuZ3kgVF-h7szpExRDbnw79q3ZqH3KhOhL59Ha7na_UW18iBN2KOmI57b2GdBelS-/s640/IMG_20121006_091110.jpg" title="field bathed in bright light" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with cell phone, field bathed in bright light</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGI8zj131mDdgKhxIt2N1EaP7nRWqtL_LR2gWBhxAVnbBUyLc9_KP_A7c_oFsmE87y25BCzszOYelUJybPnR96_83TJjzhm_cU2VfPfFPftgRa5iUPZ-Tz51pKbrZ9oFraSQwVULu49_0/s1600/IMG_1043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGI8zj131mDdgKhxIt2N1EaP7nRWqtL_LR2gWBhxAVnbBUyLc9_KP_A7c_oFsmE87y25BCzszOYelUJybPnR96_83TJjzhm_cU2VfPfFPftgRa5iUPZ-Tz51pKbrZ9oFraSQwVULu49_0/s640/IMG_1043.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with point and shhot camera, crooked creek</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5roJL2Okk1aB9UhtcVto38ZwrFLdx6tycLIlOJK1uhAU4mAVpKUeeuzD5ZTh-irfR8-CICMs88bONbwpf1iowGNGgO1jSM22llwqPbSSDjtDLksm_4918TGHZBzCHyA-uhql29cYEDLMn/s1600/IMG_20120424_150217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5roJL2Okk1aB9UhtcVto38ZwrFLdx6tycLIlOJK1uhAU4mAVpKUeeuzD5ZTh-irfR8-CICMs88bONbwpf1iowGNGgO1jSM22llwqPbSSDjtDLksm_4918TGHZBzCHyA-uhql29cYEDLMn/s640/IMG_20120424_150217.jpg" title="Summer Clouds" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with cell phone, summer clouds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with cell phone, dogwood in bloom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with point and shoot, walk along the beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with point and shoot, daughter by fortune and husband</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with point and shoot, creek bed from moutain hike</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with point and shoot, flower on mountain hike</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with point and shoot, <br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-82407215582455000262012-10-06T14:00:00.001-07:002012-10-06T14:00:33.983-07:00Day Five: Favorite Things-Just BeingI fretted a bit about missing a post after making the commitment to have 14 so here is my day late post. The reason I missed the post is because I was just living, being, doing.....the normal stuff. Nothing special in some ways, but wonderful in others.<br />
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The day started with a cold Alan had developed taking a turn for the worse and him needing a little extra attention. So I made sure he was comfortable and had everything he needed and figured I would be able to get to the post later in the afternoon since it was my day off from running. Then Alan mentioned he thought we would head back to our other house early since he was sick and working from home and maybe we would leave that night, so I started packing. <br />
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Just as I had finished packing and sat down at the computer the phone rang and it was my brother on the other end saying his car had over-heated. He wasn't sure if it would require a simple fix or a major fix but wondered if I would be around. So I began shifting gears and then wondered what we would have for dinner because feeding people is something I do and since we were planning to head home that evening I had not made plans for dinner. <br />
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And I went and picked-up my brother.<br />
And he did spend the night.<br />
And I thawed out 2 jars of frozen chicken and vegetable soup I had just made a couple of weeks ago.<br />
And we had a wonderful dinner, the three of us and Miss Butters.<br />
And we laughed and discussed the crazy elections and the debate from the night before.<br />
And my brother worked a little bit.<br />
And I read a little bit of a new book.<br />
And Alan read the news online.<br />
And we made plans for the next day and went to bed full of love. <br />
<br />
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233854989005319245.post-80946479623244181842012-10-04T17:25:00.002-07:002012-10-04T17:25:34.893-07:00Day Four: Favorite Things-Cinnamon Dusted Truffles-AKA Energy Balls<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4sTste05U7ArZ66Xyi2zItvooaCSvTg8whByI5S_7hSYeRyqlwrUChGfxExuY4wZ75w_K2BI2FUR29l_SgkdvBNarB7eshxDxPttIDq1klsWbbWXiDgM1sgNQbC9T0ZoilBiPpYkVuOX/s1600/P1010834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4sTste05U7ArZ66Xyi2zItvooaCSvTg8whByI5S_7hSYeRyqlwrUChGfxExuY4wZ75w_K2BI2FUR29l_SgkdvBNarB7eshxDxPttIDq1klsWbbWXiDgM1sgNQbC9T0ZoilBiPpYkVuOX/s640/P1010834.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cinnamon Dusted Truffles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Around here I refer to these as energy balls but truffle comes closer to the decadence of these little treats. Packed with protein and good fats, these are my go to snack. Plus the Cacao is packed with magnesium and iron. If you are new to <span id="goog_1054906406"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Cacao<span id="goog_1054906407"></span></a> you can find it at places like Whole Foods, the Healthy Home Market if you live in Charlotte, NC, or likely at your local health food type store. The recipe below is my adaptation from a recipe I found two years ago on the blog <a href="http://thebyrdfeeder.blogspot.com/2010/06/caca-alternative-protein-bumps.html">The Byrdfeeder</a>.<br />
<br />
<em>I hope you enjoy!!</em><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Cinnamon Dusted Truffles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Yield:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35-40 Truffles<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">2 cups chopped raw walnuts<br />
1/2 cup raw cacao nibs<br />
1 cup organic raisins<br />
4 tablespoons Almond Butter (salted or unsalted)<br />
1 pinch fine sea salt<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon (for coating)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-themecolor: text1;">Mix<b> </b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">all the ingredients together in a food processor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have a food processor myself so I mix
the nuts, raisins, cacao and sea salt in small batches in the blender and then
hand adding in the almond butter in a medium bowl.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">After combining all the ingredients, I then
hand roll the mixture into quarter sized balls and place on a baking sheet
covered in wax paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once all the
truffles have been rolled I fill a small ramekin with the 2-3 tablespoons of
cinnamon and roll one truffle at a time, gentling shaking the ramekin back and
forth causing the truffle to roll round and round and coat itself in
cinnamon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The truffles will begin to
darken to a nice espresso color as the oils from the truffle combines with the
cinnamon.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Place all truffles back on the wax paper
lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">I then divide the truffles into two
containers; one for the refrigerator and one for the freezer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These keep in the refrigerator for
approximately 2 weeks and in the freezer for 6 months, although to be honest I
doubt they will hang around your house that long!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">If the mix is to wet you can add more nuts to get a drier consistency.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">If the mix is too dry you can add more almond butter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">If you are not fond of cinnamon, cocoa powder
or fine shredded coconut are also wonder coating choices.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Based on the nutritional data on the packages
of ingredients I used, I broke down the nutritional information below.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: auto auto auto 4.7pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 419px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 15pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 15pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Food<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Calories<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fat<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carbs<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Protein<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sugars<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Walnuts<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1600<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">160<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">24<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">40<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Raisins<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1040<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">248<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">232<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cacao<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">520<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">48<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">40<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">16<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">0<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Almond Butter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">760<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">68<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">24<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">32<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Total<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<i><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3920<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<i><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">276<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<i><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">336<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<i><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">96<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<i><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">240<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 15pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"># Energy Balls<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">33<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">33<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">33<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">33<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 15pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">33<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 30pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; height: 30pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 74pt;" valign="bottom" width="99"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nutrition<br />
Per Each<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 30pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">119<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 30pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 30pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 30pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; height: 30pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 48pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;">
<b><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 1em 0in 12pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In-Process Photos</span></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUg9eWtjX1EwaWQ44cuqasVsDmaaz2PiVreDN12FipQtC5-5eJwUnUq_PvqmfKj6ibeQbsfznJYMVLpql2IB7VJZPZo_AUQElF00aRW-WcTQyNj3L6tnKYSJh8kJt4KwAntapBk5kQdXs/s1600/P1010825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUg9eWtjX1EwaWQ44cuqasVsDmaaz2PiVreDN12FipQtC5-5eJwUnUq_PvqmfKj6ibeQbsfznJYMVLpql2IB7VJZPZo_AUQElF00aRW-WcTQyNj3L6tnKYSJh8kJt4KwAntapBk5kQdXs/s400/P1010825.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ingredients</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPM9LtropXtJ79JsFVaBqLo2PlIsCNO6AswS1YhyUbKIE6MXVMCNhe_6nvHjXlLpRH5uFU5aaZNIFI8wLkRWmpas4rHOwDrOv7l8LhfQJwl3OmEDs3Vr4Dr6KUJlK-Tl52lw1EWPjPMuVK/s1600/P1010828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPM9LtropXtJ79JsFVaBqLo2PlIsCNO6AswS1YhyUbKIE6MXVMCNhe_6nvHjXlLpRH5uFU5aaZNIFI8wLkRWmpas4rHOwDrOv7l8LhfQJwl3OmEDs3Vr4Dr6KUJlK-Tl52lw1EWPjPMuVK/s400/P1010828.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before Processing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXejURwZweUmxqMn4L9Va6UNQD4K7CrO1DXPo_YYS2gpOJ7rsiGm4C9qnL-7TqccFGY10v6l5nsn5bfdHLCZcTIlqRhBd5sUOWOd9Z0eDqLpzgMkT2UYJNu-DuDQ54Z67gy_bRbbYzGhax/s1600/P1010832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXejURwZweUmxqMn4L9Va6UNQD4K7CrO1DXPo_YYS2gpOJ7rsiGm4C9qnL-7TqccFGY10v6l5nsn5bfdHLCZcTIlqRhBd5sUOWOd9Z0eDqLpzgMkT2UYJNu-DuDQ54Z67gy_bRbbYzGhax/s400/P1010832.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for the Cinnamon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15607609098645262185noreply@blogger.com2