[saef]

Megan, you inspired me to make massaged kale the other day, rather than cooking it as traditional greens. Only I wanted a sort of Asian flavor, so I used lite soy sauce and a dab of sesame oil, a bit of crushed garlic from a jar and a sprinkle of Splenda. I also sprinkled the leaves with sesame seeds when I was done. If I'd had water chestnuts, probably I would have topped it with that, too.

[Mudpie]

Originally Posted by saef

Megan, you inspired me to make massaged kale the other day, rather than cooking it as traditional greens. Only I wanted a sort of Asian flavor, so I used lite soy sauce and a dab of sesame oil, a bit of crushed garlic from a jar and a sprinkle of Splenda. I also sprinkled the leaves with sesame seeds when I was done. If I'd had water chestnuts, probably I would have topped it with that, too.

I might try that using your spices and bok choy. DH is away this weekend so I can experiment with the "rabbit" foods a bit. That or go to a nice restaurant.

We have heat today. I'm so glad I waited up for the service guy last night - it dropped to minus 12 last night and the wind was howling. I'm pretty sure this house (which been renovated about 20 years ago) doesn't have any insulation.

I'm not going to say it's cold in here since now it's 70 degree cold but

Dagmar

[Mudpie]

I am a lot guiltier than I thought about selling off the family home and getting rid of most of my parents' stuff. There's over half a century of memories and events that have impacted my life in that house.

Usually I suppress most of my emotions and either eat (or in the past drink) to diffuse them. I have been eating badly since the official "sale" and sleeping poorly etc. etc. I kinda knew it was guilt but I don't feel a specific emotion. Rather I am quite numb inside. That usually signals anxiety for me.

I had a vivid anxiety dream about all of this this morning. Makes sense since I've spent the week dogsitting right across from the house I just sold. The last, intensely vivid part of the dream involved me grabbing two puppies that had just been hit by a car into my arms while screaming and weeping hysterically. I woke up with a jolt and could "feel" the puppies in my arms.

YUCK!

I really am grateful to DH (and have told him and shown him) for doing the final "dismantle" of the house. I have reached my limit and just want it to be over.

That said I think I will go over there on Saturday evening and "talk" to my mother. She was hit by a van and killed instantly in 1992, at the top of the street where the house is located. I have this chance now to say goodbye and lay all things to rest between us (many of which happened in that house). There will be a modest amount of beer involved as I was my mom's chief "drinking buddy" and in the later years that was mostly what we did together in that house.

It's odd but my mom would have approved of everything that I'm doing. She was the parent that I got along with and she did plan to leave all her stuff, including the house, to me. She always worked and I suspect that the house is much more than half hers. She paid for more than half the mortgage and the bills and prevented my dad from losing the house (he wanted to remortgage to finance weird schemes he had) 3 times. I stopped him the 4th time.

I think it's the kinda tired, emo, strung out state I'm in but lately events seem to have a weird kind of coherence.

Maybe William Shatner should have me on his TV show?

Dagmar

[saef]

Originally Posted by Mudpie

She was hit by a van and killed instantly in 1992, at the top of the street where the house is located.

[paperclippy]

Dagmar, I hope saying goodbye to your mother will give you some closure.

Megan, thanks for the info about the "massaged" kale! I will pass it along to DH who has been really into kale lately.

Speaking of DH, he had some anxiety nightmares and a mini breakdown the other night. I think what happened is that he's been doing such a great job of being optimistic and making me feel better when I'm worrying so much, that he's not really letting out his own worries and they kind of bottled up and boiled over. It seems to be related to feeling like his own father wasn't there for him when he was a kid, which is only coming up now that we're having kids of our own. His dad is a doctor and used to work really excessive hours when DH was little. We talked it through and I think everything is okay now.

It's kind of funny how we somehow manage to not both be a wreck at the same time. It reminds me of when Carter had his back injury a couple years ago, and we basically took turns crying and reassuring each other all day for a few weeks, but somehow managed to not both be crying at the same time. Except now it's more like, I'm constantly worrying about something going wrong with the pregnancy and he's constantly reassuring me, until we go for an ultrasound, when as soon as I see them moving around I feel way better but DH gets super-nervous that the tech is going to find something wrong. This pregnancy business is stressful! DH pointed out to me that most people worry less the further along they get, whereas I'm worrying more and more lately. Too many statistics about premature birth for twins, I suppose.

[traveling michele]

Dagmar-- that is a lot of emotional baggage to sort through. I think it is good that you are recognizing your feelings and have a way of dealing with them. Hugs to you.

My mom also was the rock of my two parents. She worked hard to keep their house going and prevented my dad from taking multiple mortgages, etc. When she was dying she was so worried that my dad would get the house (they never divorced but had a horrible marriage)-- she signed the house over to me and made me promise to use the money from the sale for my family. When she passed away, we put my dad in assisted living and sold the house. Unfortunately, we had to use the proceeds from the sale to pay for my dad's assisted living. We really had no choice and it makes me very sad to think about it. We do have many wonderful things from the house (furniture, etc.), and she left me her fun car-- a cute little BMW (but we had to also sell that because we had young kids-- but we bought a more sensible car with the $$)-- and she left both myself and my girls jewelry. So, she lives on. My wedding ring is my grandmother's, so it is an antique. She left wedding rings to both of my girls so if and when they get married, they will also have their grandmother's rings.

[ICUwishing]

dagmar, Sounds like your self-analysis is right on, and there is a lot of "emo" stuff tied up here. Having a beer in that space might be a great ritual of closure.

I've been scarce lately; many unusual tasks cropped up: DS caught my cold and was home from school Tues and Wed; he pulled it together Wed pm and went for his audition in spite of it. He scrapped the accompanied version of "I Dreamed a Dream" that he was going to do and instead went "risky" with an a capella "Lean on Me". Callback list will be posted next Wed; he thought he was about an "8 out of 10". I'm guessing he'll be on it. If I were the director, I'd want to see how the kid does when he's healthy. Monday we find out if he's in the Honors classes for literature and history - should be a slam-dunk. The class requests are in and the only variable left is which arts elective he'll have - swing choir, varsity choir, or theater. Phew! I had to laugh at the upcoming schedule; he takes the ACT for the 2nd time this April, and as soon as he gets out, he has to go straight to a performance with the Boychoir. Ow!

Plus, we're coming to the end of the re-siding project, prepping taxes, updating passports, arranging tickets for our trip this summer. Also, in 3 weeks I'm being moved at work to a new position.

Thank goodness for soft bunnies. Petting a bunny makes the whole world go away.

[Shannon in ATL]

Oh Dagmar, reading your story about your mother made me sad. I hope you get some closure, sweetie.

Becky - I would love to have a visit with your bunnies today, I could use some time with the world in the background.

Jessica - I'm glad that you were able to help DH, and you take care of yourself. I know lots of people with twins, all happy and healthy.

I'm tired. And trying to have a better day. I have to pull back out of the mess I've let myself fall into. And, buying $2 cheap Kindle books isn't helping. LOL

[Sheila53]

Dagmar, it's weird how emotions flare up unexpectedly. Great idea about getting closure by visiting the house. Kudos to DH for coming to your rescue. Take care of yourself.

Jessica, the worry continues even when the kids are in their 40s, as I can attest, although maybe it's not as strong. A woman who was having a home birth around the time I did had twins who were 9 lbs. and 7+ lbs. May you follow in her footsteps, although perhaps your twins could be just a touch smaller. Her belly always preceded her into a room. Do you meditate? I've heard that is good for relieving those nagging anxieties although I've never tried it.

Michele, that's a lovely legacy for your girls.

Shannon, buying $2 Kindle books is probably preferably to buying bottles of wine. It's all in your perspective. When I was losing weight, I started shopping, and I hate shopping, as a replacement for eating. How is DSS, btw?

We're having our second meeting with a contractor about our townhome remodel (it's a rental we own that we're moving into), then we choose a contractor. Remodeling a kitchen and master bathroom is a big chunk of change so we want to live with it for a long time and get it right.

Almost forgot--I saw some yellow crocus yesterday! They'll be covered by the snow we're expecting, but I'll know they're there. Spring really is coming--yippee!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

[alinnell]

Speaking of parents, my Mom was the glue in our family. Dad was pretty much hands-off while growing up. Well, so was Mom to an extent. They never hovered like parents do these days and they didn't really push us kids, either. For that reason, I was never into extracurricular activities and really didn't "experience" high school. I hated it, in fact. College, with sorority life, is where I thrived.

I got an email from my sister yesterday. She and BIL are at my Dad's helping to sort him out after the remodel from the flood. She said she has spent TWO WHOLE DAYS cleaning his kitchen! It was that bad. I know I'd heard some horror stories from my SIL who does her best to keep my Dad stocked with healthy food and keep his meds up to date. But I also hear the stories from my Dad how my SIL will throw away "perfectly good food" which my SIL says was old, moldy and gross (to which Dad says he can't tell any difference). Dad has confessed he takes the "bad" food out of the garbage after she leaves. He refuses to put anything "away" so all his cooking items are all over the kitchen counters (where he can find them). What use is it to have cupboards, then? My sister says he is borderline hording as she found stacks of coupons dating back to 2011 (not yet cut out of newspapers) that she finally got him to admit were expired and should be thrown out.

[Shannon in ATL]

I just read this blog post and it made me snicker. It is a funny follow up to the addictive food article of yesterday.
The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater

[bargoo]

Originally Posted by Shannon in ATL

I just read this blog post and it made me snicker. It is a funny follow up to the addictive food article of yesterday.
The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater

ROFL !

[Megan1982]

Hi all,

It's been a busy week for me and will be a busy weekend, too. I took a Wilderness First Aid course over the last two days and the instructors were just phenomenal. I feel much more prepared to deal with injury at our remote field sites, and even in our remote county. Today I'm at my office in the city for a monthly visit. As usual no one cares I'm here, so the most exciting part of my day will be a stop at Publix on my way home. This weekend I have a pressure cooking "Preservation Party" at a friend's which could be neat, one more science talk at the art gallery I was active with two weekends/weeks ago, and back to the city for a play with my friends on Sunday. I just hope to be able to keep fitting some exercise and healthy foods around this since I won't get much of a chance to "catch up" over the weekend. I've been doing decently over the last week of busy-ness.

Mmm, Saef, that sounds like a yummy combo. That is the beauty of the massaged kale salad, you can play around with flavors and toppings as long as you have your basics - greens, oil, acid, and salt. I was hoping to buy some salmon on my way home tonight and planned on using a teriyaki marinade, and massaging up some kale from the garden. A little sesame oil would be a nice accompaniment to the teriyaki theme. Thanks for the idea!

Dagmar, your drinking buddy story made me think of reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and visiting Savannah with my book club. I'm trying to remember the story. Someone in the book visits Johnny Mercer's grave (famous singer from Savannah/buried there) and "has a drink" with him, or pours a sip on the grave site. When we visited we also poured a little drink the site. Maybe your Mom would appreciate a sip, figuratively speaking.

Jessica, glad you were able to help DH calm down. I've noticed those who worry the most are probably the ones who need to worry the least about a lot of things in life. Because you care so much to worry now, you will care so much and be great parents later! (Not very well put - does that make sense?)

Sheila, ooh, I'm jealous. I hope you'll enjoy the new kitchen once it gets here. One day I will own a house with a bigger kitchen, more open/entertaining space, maybe even a double oven! Sigh, I'd settle for a dishwasher right now.

Becky, please let me know the results of DS's auditions. I'm remembering my own HS choral days through your reports of DS.

Have a great weekend everyone.

[alinnell]

Originally Posted by Shannon in ATL

I just read this blog post and it made me snicker. It is a funny follow up to the addictive food article of yesterday.
The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater

Oh, thank you for that! Forwarded it DD who also got a laugh out of it.

Makes you wonder, though, how far some will go to get the good food. Often I ponder the possibility of owning a ranch and growing everything I eat, but I think I'd need to get rich first, so I doubt I'll see it to fruition.

[krampus]

Dagmar, <3 <3 <3