March 20th: Spring-time blooms

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I have yet another gorgeous bloom in my backyard!  As I was cleaning up the kitchen, I looked out the window and couldn’t see past some palm fronds where I knew I had an orchid tied to its trunk.

When I finished up, I walked outside and found this!!  Low and behold behind that mess of fronds was this gorgeous orchid with two flowers and 4 buds waiting to bloom!  I ripped the fronds down from the over-grown palm to make my gorgeous new addition more visible from my window.

Here are some pics of the yard in bloom:

Kinda-Cuban Chicken Soup

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I’ve been craving some chicken soup for a little while and today I jumped at the chance to make myself a big ol’ pot of it!  I love all types of chicken soups.  I adore chicken matzo ball soup, traditional american chicken soup with noodles, chicken tortilla soup… but my favorite of all-time has GOT to be my momma’s recipe for Cuban chicken soup.

The reason I have called it “kinda-Cuban” chicken soup in this article is because I omitted the noodles (broken up spaghetti noodles) that are traditionally included in the soup but I can’t stand.  Secondly, I forgot to buy corn which is actually one of my favorite parts of the soup. It was a real bummer to realize this when I got back from the grocery store but the soup turned out pretty good regardless.  I’ll include them in the recipe but I’ll admit to having had a brain fart when I made it for myself this evening.

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Ingredients:

  • 3-4 stalks of celery
  • 3-4 carrots or 1 small bag of baby carrots
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 medium calabaza pumpkin  (if you can’t find this at your grocery store, use butternut squash like I did today because its not in season)
  • 2 medium pieces of Malanga (this is a traditional Caribbean root vegetable similar to a potato but A LOT more dense.  It can be found in most grocery stores but, if you ABSOLUTELY MUST substitute it, use potatoes.  I’m warning you though…. it just won’t be the same)
  • 2 cobs of corn quartered
  • 2 pounds of skinless dark meat chicken.  (trim off the extra fat)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 envelope of Sazon Goya complete seasoning mix with saffron
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes

Cuban chicken soup is traditionally enjoyed with a squeeze of lime juice and a side of greasy white rice…. (Cubans are not known to be healthy eaters.)

Or, you can enjoy it my way and enjoy it with a healthy squeeze of lime juice and a few dashes of tabasco sauce! 🙂  Either way, it MUST have a squeeze of lime juice.  It brings out all the flavors and takes the soup to a whole new level of yumminess.

Enjoy!!  What are YOUR favorite types of chicken soup recipes?!  I’d love for you to share!

March 19th: Secret Single Behavior

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So, do you remember that episode of Sex in the City where Carrie talks about “secret single behaviors”? Basically, it was about the odd things singles do when they’re enjoying some time alone and no one else is looking… Her’s was eating saltine crackers with grape jelly and reading fashion magazines while standing up in her kitchen.  I think Charlotte’s involved staring at her pores in a magnifying mirror and Miranda’s was slathering on hand lotion and wearing weird gloves while watching the shopping channel.

It struck me today as I was cooking myself some dinner that I too have some secret single behaviors that others might consider odd:

  • For one, I have been known to put coconut oil in my hair and dead sea mud on my face then go around the house doing chores like unloading the dishwasher or folding a load of laundry while I wait for it to dry.
  • I have entire conversations with my dogs about how their days went (don’t judge me!)…. (P.S. I can’t believe I just admitted to that.)
  • And, I have weird eating habits…

Today as I was cooking myself some chicken soup for dinner,  I decided to have the last bit of wine left over from my dinner with my friend Caitlin last night.  I then went through my pantry and decided to accompany this wine with a can of hearts of palm.  I munched and drank as I cooked and listened to Pandora.  It was tasty and held me over until 8pm when the soup was finally ready to eat.

Weird?  Maybe.  Secret?  Not so much anymore. 😉

March 18th: My Childhood Friend <3

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Today I spent time with one of my oldest friends… What can I say about my friend Caitlin other than I love her?  She has been in my life since I was 8 and she was 3.  We’ve had years of little to no contact and we can go days and even weeks without seeing each other but… when we do, its like nothing has changed.

There is a trust, understanding and love that you share with a childhood friend that just can’t be replaced.  I can share my depths without fear of judgement and can walk around with my hair all crazy and my frumpiest of pjs on and it doesn’t matter… and the same goes for her.  There’s just something about childhood friends that you can’t replace.

March 14-17th: Savannah Georgia Adventure!

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You could say that I’ve done my fair share of traveling.  And, as a rule, I don’t do long road trips.  I’m more of a jet-setter type o’ girl if ya’ know what I mean.  No I don’t generally think that “getting there is half the fun”… I think BEING there is ALL the fun.  Being stuck in the cabin of my car for hours on end, smelling gas fumes and having to use public rest-area bathrooms are not this gal’s idea of a great time… But, when asked if I wanted to go on a road trip to Savannah, Georgia for a St. Patty’s Day weekend adventure, however, I jumped at the chance to make an exception to my rule.
Why, you ask?  Well, for several reasons: 1) I’ve never been to Savannah before 2) Its only 6 hours away from where I live 3) I never even knew that St. Patty’s day was such a huge ordeal there!  4) It was to celebrate the birthday of a pretty awesome person so…. Why not?!
Considering we were only there for only 1 full day and two ½ days, we fit a lot in.  We were even able to take a 3 mile bike ride from our hotel into the city, go for a 5 mile run including a loop around Forsyth Park in the center of town then ride our bikes to a lovely little café for brunch! (then ride our full bellies 3 miles back to the hotel) All in all, it was a great time with lots to be seen.
Here are some awesome picks from this weekend’s adventure:

March 13th: Head like an alien’s

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alien head

 

Today, I pulled a first grader (about 7 years old) out of class to do some testing.  As I walked with him from his classroom to my office he asked:

Boy: “Ms. Cristina, to do the test do I have to read?”

Me: “Yup.  But I know you’ll think its easy.  Don’t worry.”

Boy:  “Oh, I’m not worried.  I like reading because it helps you learn and learning makes your brain grow.”

Me:  (chuckling)  “Ah!  That’s true.”

Boy:  “Did you know that I’ve been smart since I was a baby?  When I was born I already had a big brain and thats why my head looked like an alien’s.”

Me:  (more than chuckling now) “Oh, thats just silly. You’re funny!”

Boy:  “Its funny but its true.  I did have an alien head.”  (All of a sudden, he got really serious.)

Heehee!…. I can’t make this s%$# up.  These kids are too funny and they have no idea how cute they are!

 

March 12th: Like riding a bicycle

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mom on bike

My mother has got to be just about the cutest thing ever…. And its heartwarming to know that she is inspired to get on her bike and do exercise because she sees me doing something almost every day after work.

When I shared that I had ridden my bike earlier, she decided she wanted in on the action.  She asked is she could come by my house and do my go-to butt workout video with me.:

http://walkruninspired.com/2014/01/22/new-favorite-exercises-for-butt-and-thighs/

When I saw her riding her bike down the street towards my house through the living room window, my heart just about melted.  She’s the best 🙂

 

 

March 11th: Things That Make You Smile

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mark twain

I absolutely love this quote from Mark Twain… The longer I live and the more I experience, the less I regret anything.  Life is all about taking the most from both the bad and the good… and many of the mistakes we make in life are due to impulsive decisions that, at the moment, make us smile.  How could ANYONE regret that?

On the note of kissing slowly (BTW, did anyone realize what a romantic Mark Twain was before reading this quote?!) … I will be very frank with you all and share that kissing is one of my all-time favorite things to do in the UNIVERSE.  When I saw this short video on Facebook today, I absolutely fell in love with it.  It is a video called First Kiss.  The artist had 20 complete strangers kiss as she recorded their awkward first interactions and how they changed after just one, very passionate, kiss.

I think its a very sweet and touching way of documenting one of the universal experiences of being human.. (sigh)  Did I mention how much I love kissing?….

March 10th: Just One Day

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I absolutely love this lovely quote.  If anything could happen in just one day, doesn’t it make waking up in the morning exciting?  Fun sentiment to think about on a rough morning… First Monday of Day Light Savings… lol.  Enjoy

March 8th and 9th: Epic Declaration to the Universe

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So, this weekend I got to see and help out at a mountain biking race!  The weather was awesome, the company was lovely and doing something out of my usual was great!  Bonus is… its inspired me to try something new.  I don’t know about getting filthy dirty and riding on trails just yet (not saying I won’t try it eventually) but, I’ve decided I’m going to get on a bike of another sort….. and try doing a triathlon this upcoming season!!

That’s right!  This prissy bookworm, crocheting domestic diva, wanna-be athlete is not just going to run a sub-two-hour half marathon next season… She’s declaring to the universe that she’s gonna do a triathlon too!

Because I don’t have a legitimate road bike just yet, I filled the tires of my mom’s old bike from the 90’s (It was laying in my garage) and went on my first short ride this weekend!  I’ll be filling you in on my adventures as they arise.

Here are some fun photos from the race 🙂