Karma

I absolutely believe in karma - what goes around comes around...or however you prefer to phrase it.

Here are the two most recent incidents -

1.  The grocery store I go to has those carts that are all chained together - you know, the kind you have to insert a quarter to free it?  And then you get your quarter back when you are done?  Which makes you maddeningly have to carry a quarter with you every time?  Yeah, those.

I was on my way out of the store and packing my groceries into my trunk when a truck pulled in beside me.  The man popped out and said "I'll take that cart for you", I said sure and pushed it over.  He tried to give me a quarter, but really, it's just a quarter, and so I just gave it to him.  I was surprised at how surprised he  seemed over this.

Fast forward to two weeks later, and my husband dropped me off at the store and drove off with the baby to run other errands.  As  I reached into my pocket I realized...no quarter.  Stupid, stupid grocery store and your stupid, stupid carts!  I walked into the store and low and behold - a cart, free of its shackles sat there, just waiting for me.  That never happens!

Karma.


2.  My husband was sick.  Made my baby sick.  Then my husband got sick again.  Saturday night I made a crack about how I am apparently the only one in the household with a functioning immune system.  I felt superior.  Smug.  Strong.  

And now I feel....like shit.

That's right.  Karma.

From the Weather Book

January 20
- -27C in morning
- overcast and gloomy all day

January 21
- snow in the morning
- sunny, clear in afternoon

January 23
- mild - 0C
- rainy most of the day

January 24
- mild again
- windy!
- my icicle is melllting!
- fluffy snow

January 28
- mild
- snow, snow, snow
- windy & wild night

January 29
 - snowed in!
- thick snow in afternoon

Green Onion Update - Day 13

So, I finally got around to using the green onions I've been growing.

Previous Entries-
Original post
Update - Day 6

I put them all back in the water to see if they will grow again.

Project verdict - an easy way to regenerate green onions if you don't mind floppy green stems in your kitchen window.  Tasty results.  Is it worth the $1.79 I saved?  Well...

Gains and Losses

Here's another one of those perfect winter things. 

When the snow on bare branches looks like this:

I know it's still only January, and we are in the heart of winter, but time moves fast and these perfect days are winding down.  Soon there will be slush and rain.  I'll blink and it will be Spring.

These thoughts weigh heavy on me because as March looms on the horizon, so does my boy's first birthday.  A time of joy and celebration, sure, but also a time of sweet sadness for me.  He's growing.  So fast.  Too fast.

I've been thinking lately in terms of gains and losses.

Each day with him I gain.  An almost word, a new smile, a new look, a new way to make him laugh.  But I lose, too.  His baby-ness fading.  His boyishness growing.  I think ahead to a time when I won't be his whole world.  The thought fills me with happiness, imagining how he will be and who he will be - but it also hurts.

And so, on this perfect winter day, I find my heart aching for the baby he was and the boy he is becoming.

Maybe loss isn't the right word.

Like the snow, moments accumulate.  Unlike the snow, these moments won't go away.  They populate my inner landscape.  My memory becomes a ball of yarn, wound around with a string of endless sweet days and beautiful firsts with an amazing little boy.

Late Afternoon Sky

Baby Muffins...for Babies!

My grandma is getting rid of some things, so I inherited some mini muffin tins.  What do you do when life hands you mini muffin tins?  Make baby muffins!  For your baby!

This recipe is 100% my own, of which I am inordinately proud.  I've experimented with baking before, but never really with superb results, and always using both butter and sugar.  I'm thrilled to report that these taste really, really good.

This recipe is butter free and refined sugar free.  It does have milled flax seed - for omega 3 fatty acids, whole wheat flour, and greek yogurt - high in protein.  It uses an egg yolk (the whites are an allergen, and should be avoided until your baby is at least a year), but you could always experiment with adding more applesauce if you want a completely egg free muffin.  If you don't have agave nectar on hand you can substitute brown sugar.

This makes a small batch - 9 - 12 baby muffins depending on how full you fill the tins.


BABY APPLE MUFFINS

1/4 C 2% plain Greek yogurt
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp agave nectar
0.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
0.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C milled flax seed
1/2 C grated apple


Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Line or grease and flour 9 - 12 mini muffin tins.

Combine wet ingredients and beat until smooth.

Mix dry ingredients and add to wet, stir to combine - do not over mix.

Gently fold in apples.

Spoon into prepared tins.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, or until tops just begin to brown.  Muffins will spring back when touched.

Snow, Snow, Snow

....and more snow.

Everything is quieter when the snow falls.  Chickadees punctuate the overarching stillness.

There is something else in the air besides the snow.  The peace becomes a presence.