Cake & Pie!

We had a little send off party at the office for my friend, Sara, on July 30th...for which I made cake and pie.  Beat that!

It's a little inside joke.

I found some really delicious recipes though and thought I'd share the links here!

Guinness Oatmeal Stout Pie and Root Beer Cake

I'm sure you'll all think less of me because, in the interest of time, I used a frozen pie crust and (gasp!) store bought frosting!  I know...I know.  But it had to be done.  I also had to use good old A&W root beer because the bodega near my apartment didn't carry any natural sodas....can you imagine? :)

I want to make both of these again so I can tweak the root beer cake and make my own frosting.  It was SO sweet (though no one but me seemed to have a problem with that)! 

The pie was totally kick ass. Maybe some day when I have more counter space I'll attempt to make my own pie crust. Until that day, Fresh Direct carries a great frozen one!

It was a rather hilarious evening of slightly manic baking...complete with flour-y footprints all over my hard wood floor!  It was well worth it though.

We miss you Sara!

XO

"Sing The Changes"

This week's Creative Dreaming assignment was to create a soundtrack that best illustrates our life the way we dream it to be.

I found this pretty interesting because I normally get drawn to music that illustrates how I'm feeling now...which I suppose could contribute to feeling "stuck."

So here are some songs from my iPod, in no particular order, that make up my soundtrack.  The funny thing is that with the exception of Paul McCartney and Mike Scott, all these songs are the only ones by these artists in my collection. The energy of them stuck with me and I had to download them!
 

I love it when songs "find" us...























I've made a separate playlist with them that I will add to and subtract from as I see fit.  It's good to switch to in between the Glee soundtracks, The Waterboys, and Paolo Nutini...  :)
XO

Plans for "Becoming..."

I neglected to mention another part of my dream/plan.  It's to write a book.  This will take a while since it's going to be a memoir of sorts.  About my journey of "Becoming."

I've been writing since I was in elementary school.  Taking various creative writing classes and baffling my college friends by electively taking "Poetry" and "Greek Mythology."

When I was a freshman in college, I went through a bit a depression.  It's to be expected, I think, when going through a major upheaval for the first time.  I had moved to New York City from small town CT and after a rather good first semester found myself dealing with my closest new friend not returning to school and a bi-polar roommate who had semi moved out but still had keys to the room. As a result  I began to question my choice to move to New York and study Ad Design…you name it, I questioned it.

I also retreated into my poetry journal.  I took it everywhere I went and wrote some super dark poems.  When I read them now I almost can't believe I'm the same person!  All those poems are definitely part of the tapestry of my life. I know, now, that I can access darkness…as well as light.  They can both be gorgeous.

One particularly bad evening I called my Sister and asked her if I could come over. My Brother happened to be there and they were ordering Chinese.  Sounded good to me.  At the end of the meal we all reached for our fortunes and I got the one pictured above.  At that moment everything went calm and crystal clear.  I was where I  needed to be (here, in New York) because, well…that's where I was.  I pasted the fortune into my journal and kept writing.  That was February 1, 1997.

 The poem seems appropriate...

For a while I just thought that it was a crazy thing…I even stopped writing for a long time. When I started this blog the book idea came back into focus, and now it has a foundation!  Woohoo!

So I'll keep you all posted!  My travel plans are going to figure into the book quite heavily, so onwards and upwards!!!

XO

The Best Laid Plans...

Princes Street Gardens, 2008

It's sort of scary when you start to form a concrete "plan." I have to put the word "plan" in quotes because I know very well that I could try to plan everything down to the wire and yet something could topple the whole scheme completely. I tend to work better in open and organic circumstances. It's a lot more fun and custom fit too…to follow our unique roads and marvel at the scenery as it passes by. To watch our dream destinations get closer and closer.

It's also scary when you share said "plan" with others. In one way it's liberating and awesome because  it's out there but in another it's open to criticism, nay-sayers, and folks who might be upset by or threatened by it. I have also had unfortunate experiences over these past (almost) 32 years when trusting others with my dreams. I began to feel very protective so I wouldn't be "stripped" for ideas or swallowed up by "grabby" energy, feeling betrayed in the end. That's when a person starts to hoard their dreams and ideas and they begin to feel smothered. Not a good feeling.

I admit these are very candid thoughts. I started to resent feeling like I had to squirrel away my dreams for fear that someone else might try to usurp them. I completely understand that it's usually in a subconscious way that stems from low self esteem, but still...

I've recently started to share again (slowly) with lovely people who I feel safe with. It's all been a very big part of my regrouping...because sharing is what I want to do.

So…back to the "plan" :)

I am still in the midst of saving money and paying down debt. I feel that has been the story for a while now, although lots of other yummy stuff has been simmering in the background.

I am doing well on the debt front. I've managed to consolidate the credit card woes down to one…so I just have that and my student loan outstanding. I've also been putting money into my savings account and (for the most part) not touching it…even for my Apprenticeship. Though at times the balance still feels light years away from where I want/need it to be...

I want to finish my Apprenticeship (which will be another year after this November). I'm learning so many amazing things about myself there that I know it's integral to my future. By then my savings and debt should be under even better control!

***

I get quotes everyday via e-mail and these are ringing very true to me right now:

"The buffer of time gives you the opportunity to get it right before it manifests, to take pleasure from the vision and from the molding it into place... Can you imagine if everything was manifesting instantly? You would manifest this, and then you would manifest it away. And then you'd manifest that, and then... It would be a difficult thing if you were instantly manifesting every whim or every misaligned thought. It's so much better that you have this buffer of time where you can feel it into perfection before it manifests into your experience."
--- Abraham 

Excerpted from the [Abraham Hicks] workshop in Ashland, OR on Tuesday, May 16th, 2000 #514


"Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success."

-Dale Carnegie

***

And now we come to the Scottish part of my plan.  I won't put that plan in quotes because it will be. The "how's" are the only thing in question. I think I'll  refer to it as "Project Thistle"  :)

I've started making a list of all the things I think I want to do out there. So far I have:

• A writing workshop or retreat (or both) in the Highlands
• A cooking class on the Isle of Skye
• Gaelic course on Skye
• Working in exchange for lodging with a friend on Skye
• Experience week in Findhorn
• Volunteering in various places (Iona, replant trees in Highlands, etc)
• Classes at The University of Edinburgh
• Lion's Share week(s) with friends in Edinburgh (and other places)
• Woof it?

The list keeps growing and I welcome more ideas…collaborations? I figure I can start researching the costs and put together a proposal for a grant. Whether it be an educational or artist grant, I'm not sure. And I'd have to research visas...etc.  I will, of course document the whole experience here :)

More aspects of the "plan" are to expand my blog and hopefully start creating income with it. I have been given a few good ideas from friends (including an e-book of my recipes and selling my photos). I want to start budgeting my time accordingly so I can move forward! It's as if I'm living a double life at times. The commuting into the city every day for office-work Lee Ann and the Earth Mama, cook, writer, photographer, all around creative being Lee Ann. The latter hasn't been given enough space and time to grow lately.

Happily I do feel as if the dam is breaking (in a good way). My good friend Sara is embarking on a new phase in her life and I feel like it is another one of those happy/sad catalysts. I will miss seeing her in the office every day but I know it's the beginning of a shift.

One by one the winds change and blow us in the directions we are meant to go.

XO

BLT Potato Salad

AMAZING!!!

I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to make this on one of our "hotter than hell" weekends.  So this genius had the oven going most of the day (I also made some delectable granola).

4 medium, gorgeous, yukon gold potatoes
Mixed greens
1 package (nitrate free) bacon
canola or olive oil mayonnaise
1 pint grape tomatoes
onion powder
sea salt
mustard powder
red wine vinegar
garlic

Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces, put in pot and cover with cold, salted water.  Let sit while cooking the bacon.

I cooked the bacon on a rack in the oven so it could get nice and crisp!  I also ate roughly half of the precious stash before it made it to the salad. Try to hold yourself back :)

Bring the potatoes to a boil and then reduce heat. SImmer about 10 minutes.  Drain and cool them down with ice water.

Slice tomatoes in half and add to potatoes.

The dressing:

Whisk about two tablespoons of mayo with a dash o vinegar, oil, mustard, onion, and salt.  Add one minced garlic clove and mix into potato/tomato mixture.  The mayo really gives this salad the BLT flavor.

Add greens and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

*If you want to eat it over a few days…keep greens and bacon separate and add before serving*

D.J. Baby Bok Choy

So this is how my brain works sometimes. I basically bought baby bok choy because of a Saturday Night Live sketch.

Yup. :)

and I just made up the dish in a pinch:

3 bunches baby bok choy
1 container of stir fry greens
1 can baby corn
1 container firm tofu
1/2 pound roast beef
tamari
crushed red pepper flakes
chili powder
garlic powder
onion powder

I marinated the tofu in tamari and then browned it, and rubbed the roast beef with chili powder...and set aside.

Throw the corn, beef and greens into the pan and cook until the greens wilt.  Then I sprinkled more tamari, garlic and onion powder to taste. Add the tofu in at the end.

Delicious!


And now, for the SNL sketch.

I had to name it after "D.J. Baby Bok Choy."  The sketch might not be for everyone, but I was rolling.  I went to The Fashion Institute of Technology and live in NYC.  I'm telling you, this guy exists!

If the screen is black...just click on it and it should re-load...

My 15 Minutes

 My free hat...and well earned t-shirt!

My co-workers and I went on our second annual Staten Island Yankees game last Monday and it was, as always, a hilarious evening.  We did an all you can eat plan...and boy did we take advantage of that! One of us still had a sandwich in his pocket on the ferry ride home...though I'm not naming names.

We tend to get a little rowdy. This year we kept trying to get one of the mascots over in our area for a photo...which led to one of the braver moments in my life.

Red

They asked us to play a game..and they needed a guy and a girl.  We nominated Rob and Sara but things started to look shaky when Sara found out she was going to have to sing.  So I stepped in and exercised my knowledge of old pop songs. We were playing finish that lyric, and I got "I'm a Believer"  by The Monkees. It's like the game was meant for me. What else could I have done?  I couldn't disappoint our tens of fans...

 The crowd goes wild

 Rob and I mentally prepare...

I know you've been wanting it. So I give you...the Performance:




There was a guy behind me feeding me the words...and at first I didn't realize what he was doing.  I wanted to turn around and say, "Dude, I got this!"  LOL 

 Rob and I return to normal life...

I found my reaction to the whole situation really interesting.  I calmly took up the call and though I was nervous, found that instead of being outwardly focused on all the strangers watching/listening to me...I was inwardly focused and just had fun! There was a time I wouldn't sing in front of one person...let alone be on a big screen, anywhere.

Go Yankees!

XO