I scream. You Scream. We all scream for Ice-Cream!
Yes, you read that correctly. Ben and Jerry’s is having their annual Free Cone Day…TODAY! Every year they have a day to celebrate their customers, and today is the day. They will be giving away free ice-cream from 12:00PM to 8:00PM today only (April 10, 2018). If you click on the link below you can find your closest Ben and Jerry’s.
Looking forward to fresh offerings like this from my local farmer’s markets soon!
We finally had Spring temps today! The sun shone, the sky was a shade of blue I had almost forgotten it could be, and the birthday lunch I attended this afternoon was able to held outside. I even fit a walk in this afternoon. Beautiful!
Seeing all of the budding trees and rainbow of flowers makes me eager to get working in my yard. It will soon be time to plant flowers and herbs, basil being my personal favorite. Mmmm, pesto and Caprese salads…my mouth is already watering! I also look forward to the seasonal offerings at the farmer’s markets and the inspiration they will provide for future meals.
It’s getting late here, so I’m off to bed to dream of colorful gardens…Good Night, Y’all!
Healthy eating! Tonight’s dinner: Branzino, broccoli, brown rice and mixed green salad.
Spring Is in the Air – Isn’t It?
Last night’s chili dinner was the perfect end to this dreary, stretched-out wintery season. I know, I know. It’s Spring. But I think someone forgot to tell that to Mr. Snow Miser (remember “The Year Without a Santa Claus”)? At any rate, I am hopeful that Spring is making its way back to us. Hope springs eternal, eh?
Speaking of Spring…my husband and I are “springing” into action to lose some weight. Our three-year stint in St. Thomas left me with an extra 20 pounds, only five of which I’ve managed to take off and keep off in the two years since we’ve been back. That leaves me with fifteen still to go. Ugh! I don’t need to make a ton of changes in my diet, a few tweaks here and there maybe, but nothing huge. I do, however, need to be more diligent with my workouts. I used to do Nia classes 4-5 times a week before St. Thomas. I started back again this past Fall, ending up with what I suspect is plantar fasciitis, so I eventually stopped. It’s finally clearing up with some stretching and exercises. I’m not sure if I’ll head back to Nia anytime soon, but I recently resumed power walking. I may add stationary cycling to change things up, too.
The Universe Knows All!
I also began yoga for increased flexibility. I started after mentioning to a friend that yoga just wasn’t for me, that I’d never taken a class that clicked with me…told her that I had thrown in the towel on ever being able to do yoga. I swear The Universe works in mysterious ways…that very night —that. very. night. — I received a text from a different friend inviting me to join her at yoga the next morning. I read the text and thought, “She must be crazy!” But she had a free pass for me to use and persisted in asking. I found myself answering “yes” that night, and then I found myself in the most serene yoga class the next morning. It was a combination of meditation and flexibility exercises, with a touch of strength training thrown in. Low impact…just what I needed as my feet healed. So I signed up for more.
That Universe! She sure knows how to give you what you need if you just quiet yourself enough to listen.
Filling in the Holes
That still left a hole in my regimen. I get minimal strength training with the yoga, at least in the classes I attend. So just today I added band work to my mix. I’m not looking for bulky muscles. I only need to tone up and keep my bones dense to prevent osteoporosis. Add in some ab work and back exercises, and I feel I’ve got a well-rounded routine.
My eating probably won’t change much. I have a thing for crystallized ginger that probably isn’t working for me. I’m addicted to the stuff. Once I have one piece, I find myself going back for more…and more. That is something I will not buy so often now. By the way, if YOU have a thing for it, Whole Foods has the best. But I digress…
This is not going to happen overnight, but I also don’t need to do everything all at once. I’ve been eating well for some time. Now it’s time to add in workouts. Power-walking kicked it off, followed by yoga. The next step is strength training. Maybe some cycling.
The weather is as crazy here as it is everywhere else! Yesterday I was sitting outside enjoying a sunny, warm day (82 degrees!); this morning I woke to overcast skies, drizzle every now and again, and 35 degrees. Guess I’ll be getting at least one more wear out of my favorite sweater before it gets packed away for the season.
These temperatures are more “chili” than “grilled Branzino” to me. Obviously I am not the only one to feel this way. We were invited to dinner at a friend’s house tonight – who is serving chili. I’ll be bringing along some jalapeño cornbread and an appetizer to pair with the meal. I’m leaning toward making jalapeño poppers, but I’ll have to see what looks good at the store. I have some fresh squeezed blood orange juice in my fridge, so I think I’ll also conjure up a batch of margaritas from that. It seems to fit a bit better than wine with this meal.
Chicken Chili
Hope you are all staying warm and dry wherever you may find yourself. May this be the last of the cold spell…Cheers!
Years ago I used to hold an all-women cocktail party for my girlfriends on the Friday following Good Friday. I called it Great Friday. Why? Because while Good Friday is, well, good and all that, Great Friday…is GREAT! I think the last one I hosted was back in 2006. Not sure why I stopped. I was reminiscing about it all last night, and decided it was time for another Great Friday.
I believe I may have mentioned I am a Whiskey Girl…I love my bourbon…and sometimes a wee bit of Scotch…and I’m working on developing my taste for Rye Whiskey (it’s coming along nicely, thank you very much!). I decided to keep tonight’s Great Friday small and low-key. So Instead of fancy cocktails I’m serving up whiskey, specifically the Irish variety. I have a couple of girlfriends who are also whiskey drinkers, and we are gathering tonight to sample several in my collection.
Irish Whiskey – A Few Favorites
As a writer, I am particularly fond of an Irish Whiskey called Writer’s Tears. According to their site, “Many Irish writers suffered from ‘Writer’s Block’ and it was said that when they cried they cried tears of Whiskey. Most, if not all of them, sought comfort and inspiration from “The Water of Life” (Whiskey). The relaxing characteristics of Whiskey helped many of them overcome writers block and produce inspired works of poetry, prose and plays.”
Any writer who is also a whiskey drinker is calling out a loud, “Hell yeah!” right about now. (Or is that only me?)
One of my last visits to Ireland I found myself in a pub (as all of ye should be when in Ireland! No better place to find yerself…), and that’s where I first discovered this whiskey. For some reason I didn’t bring a bottle back with me to the States. Upon arriving back home I decided I needed to add it to my collection. This was a bit of an issue since it seems it is not sold here, or at least it is not sold near me. But I was determined. And obsessed. After a hearty online search I finally found a distributer in Germany who was able to ship it to me. Tonight I will sit here happily enjoying a wee bit o’ th’ stuff w/ me lassies. Life is good, eh?
This is not the only Irish Whiskey in my collection. In fact, there are a couple I prefer over this one, namely “Redbreast” and “Green Spot.” I’ve been known to take a nip of either on a chilly night by the fire. Not that I limit myself solely to those times; however, there is something about a crackling fire that seems especially fitting when partaking of a dram (or two) of whiskey.
I’ll leave you with some whiskey quotes:
“Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whiskey makes it go round twice as fast.” ~Compton MacKenzie (I have verified this on a few occasions!)
“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.” ~W.C. Fields
“Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.” ~Mark Twain
“I’m on a whisky diet. I’ve lost three days already.” ~Tommy Cooper
Great Friday!!
Irish Whiskey – A Few Favorites