Tag Archives: change

First Soup of 2016! Red Lentil and North African Spices

18 Monday Jan 2016

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How’s everyone’s 2016 so far?  All’s fabulous here…lots more to do getting settled into the new apartment and fantastic new life in Seattle proper!  LOTS and lots of downsizing and purging…when you go from a 3 bedroom 1450 sq ft townhouse to an (awesome) NEW 1 bedroom with 650 sq ft…well, it’s an adjustment!  IMG_0565And an incredible adjustment it is.  Joyous, cleansing and full of happiness.  I’m learning how much I unconsciously “filled” the large spaces in the townhouse with crap I didn’t need.  Kitchen gadgets.  Clothes.  Towels.  Sheets.  God knows what else.

Now I’m learning that everything…EVERYTHING in the new apartment needs to Earn. Its. Keep.  Everything’s gotta count!  That means choosing pieces which are best sellers that not only are beautiful but are functional as well.  Exhibit A:  the gorgeous 6 3/4 quart (~6.3 l) Le Creuset cast iron Dutch oven…my housewarming gift to myself!  This will last me a lifetime…and it was a terrific find at an outlet about an hour drive north.  It’s a “closeout” color – love the gorgeous blue!

I’m continuing my love affair with making soup from scratch, which started probably 3-4 years ago.  Search on “soup” in here and see what pops up!

E and I made a delicious red lentil soup with North African spices we found in a recent issue of Cook’s Illustrated.  As the recipe explains, red lentils are relatively quick and easy to cook, as their skins are already removed.  Meaning, no hours of soaking required!  Hooray! We just gave these a quick rinse in a colander and they were good to go.  Don’t have a stick blender to puree your soup?  No problem here.  Just grab a large whisk and give the soup a whirl at the end of the cooking process to give it a coarse texture.

Serves 4 to 6

  • 4 T unsalted butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped fine
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3/4 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 1 T tomato paste
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 4 C chicken broth
  • 2 C water
  • 10.5 oz (1 1/2 cups) red lentils, picked over and rinsed
  • 2 T lemon juice, plus extra for seasoning
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried mint, crumbled
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 C chopped cilantro

Melt 2 T butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and 1 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add coriander, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in broth, water and lentils and bring to a simmer.  Simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft and about half are broken down, about 15 minutes.

Whisk soup vigorously until it is coarsely pureed, about 30 seconds.  Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and extra lemon juice to taste.  Cover and keep warm.  The soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Thin the soup with water, if desired, when reheating.

Melt remaining 2 T butter in a small skillet.  Remove from heat and stir in mint and paprika.  Ladle soup into individual bowls, drizzle each portion with 1 tsp spiced butter, sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Fivenineteen notes:  Oh my goodness, just one clove of garlic??  Criminal!  Don’t skimp here…rather, we used an entire head.  And feel free to amp up the spices much more than this recipe called for.  We did use a few ounces more than the 10.5 called for, and I think that made the soup a lot more bland than we liked.  That’s what leftovers are for, right?  Time to add more spices!  We also used salted butter and it made no difference.

Buon appetito!

“Eat Your Greens” Detox Soup!

19 Sunday Oct 2014

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GlowsMom was right, people…gotta eat those VEGGIES!  Fueling our bodies with good, nutritious food is THE foundation of us being our best selves for each other out in the world. Our happiest and healthiest. Awhile back I spotted a sign in a store window that said “The food you eat can either be the best form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”  WOW.  Did that ever make an impression on me!

Ever since completing the Lean Eating for Women program last July I’ve put this into practice more and more.  And for the record, I don’t feel like I “completed” anything.  Rather, that year of habit-based coaching was the end of the beginning!  The launch of fivenineteen 2.0!  Who is now nearly 50 lbs lighter (22.5 kg) and about 43″ leaner with body measurements!  Holy crap, right? And since then, now doing these things “on my own” so to speak (which I’m not, really, as the Lean Eating online community is superb), I feel equipped with fantastic, sustainable nutrition and exercise habits I can continue for the rest of my life.

While I am not vegan, I’m really enjoying the Oh She Glows cookbook by Angela Liddon.  Delicious, creative vegan recipes…even for those like me who love a good steak or burger now and then!  It’s true…eating your veggies DOES make you glow from the inside out.  I’m told I look younger now than before I started taking better care of myself, and I have fewer wrinkles too apparently.  Bonus.

So, here’s a fantastic soup recipe.  Enjoy the ritual of chopping veggies…for me there is something very rustic and soothing about it.  [No, I don’t have a food processor, but am in the market for one.] Once you’re done with the prep work this soup comes together very quickly and will make the house smell heavenly.  This was a perfect choice, as I had a large, sweet onion and some mushrooms in the fridge that were a little long in the tooth and needed to be used.  When your veggies are ‘tired’ and about ready to be tossed, try them in a stir-fry or a soup like this one so they don’t go to waste.

Eat Your Greens Detox Soup – Serves 3

  • 1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 C (750 ml) sliced cremini or white button mushrooms (about 8 oz)
  • 1 C (250 ml) chopped carrots
  • 2 C (500 ml) chopped broccoli florets
  • Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 1/2 to 3 tsp (7 to 15 ml) grated, peeled fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp (10 ml) ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp (0.5 ml) ground cinnamon
  • 5 C (1.25 L) vegetable broth
  • 2 large nori seaweed sheets, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) strips (optional)
  • 2 C (500 ml) torn kale leaves
  • Fresh lemon juice, for serving (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the mushrooms, carrots and broccoli and stir to combine.  Season generously with salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes more.

Stir in the ginger, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the broth and stir to combine.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 20 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the nori (if using) and kale and cook until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if desired.

Fivenineteen notes:  I purchased one of those cardboard box thingy’s of vegetable stock that contains 4 cups broth, not the 5 called for in this recipe.  Honestly, you can get away with just 4 cups, plus the soup will be even thicker and heartier, which I prefer, honestly.  I like this served with a small blob of pesto too.

Buon appetito!

So, How’s that Lean Eating Program Going?

12 Thursday Sep 2013

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A few people have asked me how things are going with the Lean Eating for Women program I started back in late July.  WOW!  I did this through the entire month of August and now all of a sudden it’s mid September!  YES!  I’m still doing this…I’m not giving up!  This is a year-long journey, and I am so happy to have tons of support all around me.  People like J, my family and my friends.  And a few co-workers who I trust to share what I’m doing.

Ironically, my work environment, the place I spend the most of my hours, is not conducive to this life changing journey of mine.  Work is an all-out Food Palooza every day.  I’ve probably blogged about this before.  Someone is always bringing in donuts or pastries and passing them around to everyone.  The DBAs in the cube farm near me love to bring in ice cream for themselves every week and since I sit near them they always offer me some too.  We’re always chatting about what we’re doing for lunch – who’s going out to lunch and where – or who volunteers to go pick up takeout Chinese.  People sometimes get offended when I politely decline the donuts they’re passing out.  That’s OK – that’s their stuff to deal with, not mine.

We even had an ice cream social at work this week as a nice thank you for all that we’ve been doing these past couple of months.  200 people descended on the large meeting room near our cafeteria and it was a make your own sundae set up with our Directors and VPs scooping up ice cream for us.  Fun!  I did have one scoop of chocolate ice cream and ate it slowly.  Interestingly enough, it didn’t taste that great.  Kind of metallic and yucky!

Now wait a second, why the heck am I blogging on a Thursday afternoon, you might be wondering?  Well, I woke up not feeling that great this morning with a slightly sore throat.  So I knew I didn’t have a lot of meetings today and just stayed at home and slept.  I am feeling a lot better now.  I probably slept with my mouth open and it got all dry and irritated!  Too funny.  What a relief!  I simply don’t have time to get sick!

Lean Eating is a habit-based coaching program.  Who wants to get overwhelmed having to learn everything they need to do all at once when starting something new, right?  That’s a guaranteed formula for failure.  Rather, this program has you start out small, just doing one or two things every day, repeating them.  And you track your progress on a private site to show whether or not you did your habits that particular day.  As time goes by, exercise programs are introduced, and now we’re just starting to practice some food-based habits.  Every habit builds upon the other one.  Get off track for a bit?  No problem…tomorrow is a clean slate!

We also are provided some reading material online every day and a short assignment to reflect on how you can apply the lesson content into your own life.  And, you track your progress online to show you’ve completed that day’s lesson.  If you get behind, it’s easy to catch up and see which ones you still need to do!  This was perfect for me, as I was in Kansas City in late July for Silpada National Conference right when the Lean Eating program kicked off so I missed the first few days of the program.  In retrospect that wasn’t a big deal at all, but I remember at the time I was a little worried as I had no idea what to expect!

The Precision Nutrition coaching team is very grounded.  Each of us in the program is assigned a coach, and there are online forums and private Facebook groups to hook up with to share ideas and ask questions.  My coach sends her group a short video message every week and we can book appointments with her to chat over the phone or Skype.  I would bet there isn’t one scenario they haven’t been through with the thousands of clients they’ve worked with!  So, no excuses!  Practice your habits, do your workouts and complete your assignments!  And it’s all with a sense of humor too – I don’t feel like I’m in a military boot camp at all!  And did I mention how easy it is?  Meaning, I just read what I’m supposed to do that day, do it and note online I completed it.  They include short videos showing how to do the exercises and I just print out the exercise list for that day and take it with me to the gym!

Getting exercise is becoming a habit with me again. I remember now how great I feel after a workout and how it helps me unwind mentally.  I’m at the gym 5 nights a week, I do something active outdoors once a week and have one day off.  I looked at my stats and I’ve been 93% compliant with getting my workouts done over the past two weeks!  YES!  High Five!  I feel great and have noticed some subtle changes in my muscle tone.  I’m down 7.5 lbs (3.4 kg) and can see the double chin slowly going away. Some of the exercises that were super hard at first are now getting slightly easier.  This has been a huge wakeup call for me.  I turned 46 in May and have never had a naturally thin, fit build.  After losing 35 lbs 10 years ago I gained about 60 lbs back!  This is not healthy!  So that’s why I’m doing this.  Regular exercise is essential for me to be the best me…YES!

I am a ‘peeker.’  I want to peek ahead and see what the program content will be toward the end.  I want to know exactly how we’ll shift into maintenance mode once the program wraps up next year. I want to know how to manage things like life that will conflict with the time I’ve budgeted to exercise every day. Hell, when I cook I like to open the oven door and peek at what’s cooking and inhale the aroma!  Peek peek peek!

Well, the Lean Eating website must have been designed with peekers like me in mind.  There is new content posted each day….and we can only peek ahead two days!  Ha ha!!  If you try to peek ahead further you’ll get redirected back to today’s info.  Well done, PN!

Anything, Anytime…Really?

03 Sunday Feb 2013

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Panic. Terror. Anxiety.  When I got my latest ‘homework’ during my second Intuitive Eating phone coaching session on Thursday, I freaked out.  It was like drawing a mental blank…my mind couldn’t compute what I was hearing.  I could envision nothing but a black, dark void.

My homework?  For one week, eat anything you want, whether you are hungry or not.  The only caveat is to be 100% PRESENT and MINDFUL to what you are eating.  And notice how you feel!  Gah!!

But I promised to commit myself 150% to this process.  To be ready to transform myself and bust free of dieting hell and the yo-yo weight gains and losses I’ve sustained over the past nearly 20 years (eek, that’s nearly half my life!).  I’ve conditioned myself to only eat carbs during dinner (a la the Carbohydrate Addicts diet) which I’ve attempted twice, each time gaining back the weight I lost and then some.  Yep, that ‘carbs only at dinner’ mindset is tattooed in my brain, and I still beat myself up mentally when I stray. I’m learning that I could actually be unconsciously dieting without even thinking about it!  Oh dear, what a smothering, vicious cycle this is!

So.  With this week-long experiment the idea is to quiet my mind (yeah, good luck with that).  Quiet my mind and instead listen to what my body says it needs.

To some this might sound like HOT DAMN, HOO DOGGY…woohooo!!  For me it was terrifying.  And still is – I’m just a few days into it.  What am I afraid of?  Honestly, I’m afraid of gaining even more weight.  I’m afraid of bingeing and feeling like I’ve eaten too much and “should” slow down or stop.  I’m afraid my body will only crave unhealthy foods and I’ll end up malnourished.

But, I dove right in.  They say to do one thing a day that scares you, right?  This is definitely it!  So below is a peek of my food journal.  I started this experiment February 1.  Ahh, there’s something nice about a new calendar page and a new start.  The timing was fantastic.

February 1:  Breakfast was a morning food “Gulp,” (not what I would call breakfast):  a chunk of cheddar cheese.  I feel rushed and stressed and not necessarily hungry as I’m trying to get out the door and in the car to drive to work.  I force the cheese down; it’s at an earlier time of morning I’m not usually eating, but I force it down because I’m worried I’ll feel hungrier later in the mid morning which is my prime-time for more difficult tasks at work and meetings.

Mid morning snack:  Dried squares of seaweed, flavored with salt and sesame oil…YUM.  I feel zing-y inside and nourished, energized.  Light.

Lunch:  I head over to the large eating area on our company campus.  They have an incredible variety of food choices, including a hot food bar which I really enjoy.  I pick up 1 large meatball with seasonings.  It looks hearty but the meat is really pink and undercooked inside so I stop after a bite.  Disappointed.  I also got a couple of squares of portabella mushroom ravioli.  I feel a little guilty eating carbs and cream sauce during lunchtime but it’s so rich tasting.  Eating slowly to savor the taste.  And a couple scoops of barley risotto.  I love the crunch and nutty texture which is different from the ravioli.  I feel full and don’t finish the second spoonful.

Afternoon snack:  Sea salt and vinegar potato chips.  I took a few moments to inhale the aroma in the bag – the vinegar scent makes me feel energized.  I’m not very hungry but I eat a few anyway.  Next a handful of raw, unsalted almonds.  I was starting to feel low on energy but I felt full still.  The afternoon energy drop I typically experience between 4 and 5pm was not as severe as it’s been when I’ve eaten low/no carb lunches.

Evening of 2/01:  I’m not really feeling super famished – this is great!  I go to the grocery store and don’t feel freaked out (I hate the feeling of being at the grocery store when you’re hungry).  I purchase a couple of containers of Greek yogurt, on-the-vine tomatoes, more of those dried seaweed snacks with sesame oil flavor, pesto, gum, sour cream, chips, organic mac & cheese, sushi for tonight and some beer.  Around 9pm I eat the sushi…it’s brown rice style with sashimi and I mix the wasabi with some spicy wasabi-infused soy sauce in my fridge.  YUM.  I feel elated and full of energy…love the spicy flavors and the seafood!  The rice makes me feel satisfied and not bloated.

Saturday February 2:  I don’t eat anything until 11am.  I was hosting our annual HOA meeting at my townhouse and was feeling excited to see everyone and a little anxious too.

After the meeting I had a piece of cheddar cheese and three huge glasses of V8 juice.  I feel alive and happy, like the juice is nourishing me!  And few small slices of spicy pepperoni.  My stomach feels a little irritated and my esophagus burns a little, but I like it.  Then around 1pm I had a sudden hunger urge.  I found a small serving of leftover pasta and vodka cream sauce in a Tupperware in the fridge. About 2-3 bites. I ate it cold.  Just what I needed!  I feel happy.

I later went to the PCC near my house.  I’m always endlessly fascinated with the variety of foods they carry!  I was in search of primrose oil capsules (they’re supposed to help stabilize PMS cravings and mitigate breast tenderness, among other things), chocolate mousse, organic butter on sale, cilantro lime spread and some live raw bars.  Then I went to my favorite spa for a long-overdue waxing appointment.  Time to get the eyebrows shaped and tinted too…I’m back in job hunting mode bigtime and need to get cleaned up to look my best for interviews!   I got there early and went to the Starbucks across the street to get a nonfat latte.  The lemon pound cake inside the pastry case literally jumped out at me – I need a piece!  I ate about half of it in very small bites.  It made me feel alive and happy.

Dinner:  I am hungry and want mac & cheese.  It’s 5:30pm and I instinctively think OMG no, it’s too early to start dinner.  I start a load of laundry instead.  Then it’s 6:00 and I say fuck it, I’m hungry, let’s start the water boiling.  I made a full box of mac & cheese and ate about 1/3 of it with some shredded mozzarella cheese on top (cheese on top of cheese LOL). I feel happy and full!  The rest goes in the Tupperware for another time.  I had some chips with that cilantro lime spread as a dip later in the evening.  And a couple spoonfuls of the chocolate mousse.  Delighted!

Sunday February 3:  It felt wonderful sleeping in a little later (11am).  I was feeling thirsty so I grabbed a big glass of water and took my typical round of supplements (which now includes the evening primrose oil).  Was I feeling hungry?  Yes, a little bit…so I grabbed some pomegranate-flavored Greek yogurt and had a big glass of V8 juice.  I feel full and a little bloated after finishing the glass of juice – maybe I drank it too quickly.  I love the flavor though!

I came back from running errands and am suddenly hungry again!  So I have a few small bites of the leftover mac & cheese from last night.  I feel guilty about doing that!   And a glass of water.  About an hour later I’m not feeling particularly hungry but I really want one of the raw bars I purchased yesterday.  It’s a chocolate/coconut flavor and it’s delicious!  Now I’m full again.

So, as you can see this is still a very new process for me. Food and my weight are very emotional to me, but it’s hard for me to put those emotions into words, whether on the phone with my coach or in writing here.  So I’ll keep working on it and not beating myself up if I’m not ‘doing it right’ (compared to WHAT, right??)

I vow to reject the diet mentality…saying goodbye and GOOD RIDDANCE to 15+ years of trying/failing at Carbohydrate Addicts, by losing and re-gaining 30-35 lbs each time.  I need to envision shedding the dieting mentality like when an animal molts.  They grow, transform and gleefully walk away from their old skin.  It doesn’t fit and doesn’t suit me any longer!

When There’s Nothing to Say at Three

09 Sunday Sep 2012

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Well hmmm…and WOW.  Here I am at the keyboard.  Hi, everyone!  It’s my typical, wonderful Sunday blogging ritual unfolding before me – I SO look forward to this time – and I have nothing. And yet I don’t normally worry about not having something to write about on these Sunday afternoons.  Sometimes I get inspired early in the week and just ‘know’ that’s what I want to write about.  And sometimes I don’t get inspired until late on Saturday, or even when I wake up on Sunday.  Sometimes – rarely – it’s been a big ol’ crickets chirping and I’ll take a mental vacay.  Sometimes I like to blog about my latest cooking adventure – lately it’s been a soup passion a-brewing within.  But last night was a (fabulous) repeat…I made Crema de Cangrejo (crabmeat soup, my own way – unpureed) – I’ve had this wackadoodle seafood craving for the last few days and figured, why fight it?

But I didn’t want to take a mental vacay today, so I’m bravely sitting here just rambling.  This is an important week here in fivenineteen land, for this Blog turns THREE on September 15th!  I can’t believe it!  I distinctly remember the day I sat down and got started.  And I remember reading lots of advice about blogs and how to start them, attract followers, keep people engaged and all that.  Oh, and to always have a theme in mind for your blog.  Theme?  Well, I said fuck that.  Things are eclectic and all over the place in here and most don’t seem to mind (right??).  Ramblings on cooking, makeup, shopping, hockey, fitness or lack thereof, homeowner freakouts (oops, I mean projects), work or lack of work…it’s all here and it’s all me.  I’m closing in on 200 posts which is pretty mind-blowing.  And survived a move earlier this year from Blogspot over here to WordPress land – sooo worth the effort. And bonus – I got rid of the “-” in my url name – hooray!  Have I ever told you all that a few years ago – long before fivenineteen – that I met with an intuitive healer (aka psychic) who told me that I have things to write about that others will want to read.  I honestly had not made that connection between that conversation and being here now.

So I guess things are in a comfortable groove right now.  There’s still much to do though.  The popcorn ceiling scraping project is moving along at a snail’s pace – L and I have talked about this and he’s promised we’ll finish as much as we can this month.  I have a slew of jewelry I’m getting ready for my first ever retired sample sale next weekend, and I’m having it in a restaurant rather than my house.  I’m so excited for this because it’s something I’ve never tried before – who knows, it could turn into an annual event!  I now have a new garbage disposal – damn I have the best plumber in the world – and so that’s a huge relief off my shoulders (stupid, mysterious leaks no more).  I’m getting back in the gym and working out with a trainer on Thursdays and it’s been amazing.  So many eye-opening discoveries about my shoulders and posture and muscle tone that need work…not to mention everywhere else (hello, core, I’m talkin’ to YOU).  And I need to get my resume updated pronto…as of right now my work contract is scheduled to wrap up in November.  They may be able to find budget to keep me on through January – which would be awesome as that’s our project launch timeframe – but that’s still not confirmed.  And it’s so refreshing to know it’s nothing personal…having transparent conversations with your manager is bliss.  Believe me, it’s not always that way when you do consulting/contracting work, as much as I strive for it.  Healthy is best!

Speaking of not taking things personally, that’s a hard one sometimes.   Especially when it’s a shift in close friendships…meaning, close friendships that have blossomed for years and years that somehow have devolved and have been downgraded to arms length acquaintance or to the type now that you only now “see” on Facebook.  This hurts.  It sucks.  And notice I’m using the word frienshipS.  Plural.  ‘Cause there’s TWO of them that are threatening to fade to black.  And it makes me sad…and angry too.  My knee jerk reaction is what the fuck.  What the hell have I possibly done to piss either of these two ladies off (who don’t know each other, by the way).  Why won’t you return my phone calls, emails or texts saying hey, would be great to see you and catch up, how are you and blahblahblah.  Or even worse…respond to me with very nice things to say but nothing in response to the ‘hey let’s get together part.’

But, sometimes no answer is your answer.  I get it that we’re all busy and whatnot.  Oh wait, make that “CRAZY busy.” Sometimes I think being busy is almost like bragging rights.  Well, look at me here and how busy I am…I’m FAR busier than you, therefore I’m superior. 

And AHA!  HERE’S the article about this that totally sang to me.  Where did I find it?  On Facebook, of course!  “… I recently wrote a friend to ask if he wanted to do something this week, and he answered that he didn’t have a lot of time but if something was going on to let him know and maybe he could ditch work for a few hours. I wanted to clarify that my question had not been a preliminary heads-up to some future invitation; this was the invitation. But his busyness was like some vast churning noise through which he was shouting out at me, and I gave up trying to shout back over it.”

Anyone out there have a friend who drops off the map when he/she gets into a new relationship?  I’ve been guilty of that too.  One of these ladies has been in a relationship that apparently is pretty serious (from what I see of all their Facebook pictures…see where I’m going with this?).  Or ever have a friend who will now only do things as couples, hence us single folks get left off the invite?  Hell, I’ve been a 3rd, 5th, 7th wheel at many parties and it’s no problem for me.  I guess it is for others.

So, I’m sad…it almost feels like two mini ‘deaths’ of sorts and even more painful because they’re both happening at the same time.  And perhaps I’m a little jealous too, but no, probably not as I’m not a jealous type.  I have to just keep looking and moving forward and, if both of these friendships DO fade away, that opens my soul up for whatever/whoever is supposed to come into my life next.

It just sucks in the meantime.  And wow, I guess I really DID have something to say today after all.

Exciting Changes

29 Sunday Jan 2012

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I felt compelled to put my (likely) last Blogspot post over here on fivenineteen.org too.  Continuity and all I guess.   Here it is!  (Ummm, OK so the date shows this was posted on Jan 29th but it is Jan 28th right now so we did a leap into the future looks like.  Actually that was my bad; I had the wrong time zone selected on the back end here.  Learning, learning.  All other posts should have an accurate date stamp!)

Know that feeling when you’re right on the brink of pulling the trigger on something new?  You may or may not have it all planned out but you probably have an idea of how you want things to look whenever “it” is done?

I’m not quite there yet, but I’m on my way.  And (but) the train is rolling, so no turning back.

What’s going on here?  Well, Dearest Followers and Readers, I’ve purchased a tiny piece of the Internet.  Fivenineteen.org.  Nope, no hyphens (yay!).

What this means is that this is likely one of the last new posts I will do on Blogspot.  I’ll continue weekly postings here on fivenineteen.org. 

Whew!  I’ve ported over all of my posts here from Day One over to the new site as well – thankfully much easier than I thought.  Please, please, check out my new work in progress here on fivenineteen.org!  And please pardon the dust as well, as I am learning the ropes on how to lay out this new site, choose graphics and get everything looking the way I want it.  The post pictures are kind of jacked up right now (all squooshed to the side), but I’ll get it straightened out eventually. 

Want to know a little secret?  One of my favorite parts of the Blogspot site is the side bar showing where hits come from.  It’s absolutely fascinating to me!  From countless places around the States to the UK, China, Australia, Maldives, Malta, Romania and Brazil – and so many other countries too.  I just love it.  And I hope I can replicate something similar here too – stay tuned. 

Right now I am debating whether to add my Twitter feed here, but I’m not sure I want it there.  And don’t laugh, because in adding Twitter I realized just how seldom I tweet.  So that might change too.  Follow me @five19 and see what happens.  Huge thanks to my dear friend P, who shared a bunch of great tips on site layout, adding pictures and replicating what I have here over on fivenineteen.org.  I’ve got a great to-do list for sure thanks to her.

And in other Change News, I’ve got yet another list – thanks to my guy BFF L – of a whole bunch of home improvement projects he is going to help me with.  First things first, a run (or two?) to the Dump.  This all starts tomorrow, which is why I’m blogging today on a Saturday instead of my usual Sunday (yes, I know it says Sunday; wrong time zone issue which is now fixed).  I have no idea how crazy tomorrow is going to be but I know once we get started I’m going to be really excited and on a roll.  It’s always that first step that’s the hardest, don’t you think?  Having great friends willing to help and provide ideas is the grease in my gears.  Sometimes my lists get so long I lose the prioritizing skill and PLOP.  Nothing gets done.  I get wiggy and overwhelmed.  And I’ve forewarned L I likely will along the way.  He has great ideas, and (but) he and I have very different tastes in decorating.  So this is going to be amusing and interesting.  But he knows whose name is on the title to the townhouse here, so we’re all good there.  (Meaning, mine).

So the Man Help is on the way tomorrow, and meanwhile I’ve got a ton to do to prepare today, plus get stuff for the tacos we’re going to make.  And I have a super late hockey game tomorrow night too.  Can I get a second or third wind to skate hard?

Lots more to come – and probably pictures too – as the home projects get underway.  Remember, check out fivenineteen.org here for more posts.  And if you follow me at Blogspot, why not follow me on my new site here too?  I’d be most grateful.  Yeah, I don’t care for self-promotion but there ya go – I said it outloud and most humbly.

Changes Dunked in Silver

01 Sunday May 2011

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May already??  Wow. 

Well, it was quite a week.  And how could we not recap a week without a big nod to the Royal Wedding – ?  C’mon, even the most anti out there saw a few clips of it or at least the pictures?  And maybe even cracked a smile?  It was breathtaking.  Not so breathtaking for me to feel like getting up at 3am to watch it live, but I do know of a few ladies who did get up early and have a pajama party – with their best HATS on.  Love it!  And pass the tea and scones, please, darling.

So, changes.  Changes are good – good to refresh, re-analyze and re-group.  My work assignment is getting a brief extension at least into the summer – possibly into the fall – but that still has not hashed out.  Good Lord have I been back at work nearly a year?  Yes indeed.  All of that stress and anguish I went through prior to landing this gig won’t soon be forgotten.  So nice to have it far in the rear view mirror.  But with a few scars…and that’s OK.

Two of my closest co-workers wrapped up their assignments this week and are moving on.  One won’t be going too far it turns out, as she’ll be joining kind of a ‘cousin’ team of ours, but I’ll miss her ‘partner in crime’ that she’s been this past year.  Another is required to take about 3 months off – that’s the rules with some kinds of contingent workers – and she is hoping to return and pick up where she left off.

I’m happy for them both but admittedly a little sad.  But moreso I have a shitload of hilarious memories.  Things that may have sucked before but are now funny. 

I capped off the workweek with a wonderful dinner with my dear friend L at Brix, a wine bar a short drive from my house.  She’s a part of that circle of friends I get together with a few times a year – we’re all about the same age and went to elementary school together.  Unwinding over a nice pinot gris and to die for risotto was heavenly.  L and I can just smile at eachother and ‘know’ what we’re each thinking.  Oodles of memories over some 35 years.  

And the silver, silver, silver flows and flows.  I’m taking a few extra steps in my Silpada business by doing a sort of correspondence course with a coach at the corporate offices.  She sends me ‘homework’ each week for 4 weeks and I send it back at the end of the week.  She sends me feedback, the next week’s ‘homework,’ and we also chat on the phone during the week too.

Ugh.  I know myself pretty well and am realizing where I’m doing well in promoting my business and where I suck monkey butt.  I have a party next weekend that I’m SUPER excited about.  And one night I met up with a good friend I hadn’t seen in quite awhile for dinner and half priced bottles of wine.  She asked about the jewelry I was wearing, I let her road test a few pieces during dinner, and voila – that evening I had a very nice order from her!  So I feel comfortable when people approach me with questions or compliments.  I’ve been complimented on my jewelry from random strangers in the grocery store to the cashier in one of our work cafeterias.  You can bet I never go anywhere without my jewelry on and a handful of business cards.  Yes, I’m learning the nuts and bolts of direct selling.  It’s all about connections, people!  The woman who is hosting my party next week noticed my jewelry at work and it just flowed from there.  You never know!

But I hate picking up the damn phone.  It’s no problem for me when I’m doing follow up calls to make sure people are happy with their jewelry and to answer any other questions, but just making outbound calls to people I know to talk about what I’m doing and to ask if they’d like to host parties.  Well, ew.  I am so not a sales person, and frankly, when I get home from work I am tired and the last thing I feel like doing is picking up the phone.  I feel like I’m intruding on people’s dinner time or other quality time with family.  And you know I don’t mean to be whiney in here because I DO love what I’m doing as a side business, but that’s the area I need to really work on.

And it suddenly dawned on me why.

Email!  Texting!  Facebook!  So much of my immediate circle communication is through non-phone, social media methods!  Aha!  Is that something unique to me?  Or to this part of the country?  I have beautiful snail mail postcards in my supplies which are used to send out reminders about parties.  I don’t know about any of you, but around here we stick with Evite.  Is it because it’s ‘green’?  Or technological?  It’s SO much easier to set up parties and have reminders sent automatically via email.  

So these are some fun self-discovery things…part of the reason I chose to start this business was to get out of my comfort zone and do something I’d never done before.  Same as my plunge into hockey back in 2003.

I’ll be speaking during part of our monthly team meeting this week and I’m really honored to be asked. It’s very informal – just sharing the tips I’ve learned from this 4-week course I’m doing on my own – but I really appreciate the chance to participate more in our meetings.  ‘Cause they’re super fun!!

And now it’s time to head to the bank and run other fun errands.  Got a shiny new Silpada license plate frame on my car – let’s see what happens!