Just Peachy Keen -Peach Sauce

Great sauce on chicken, pork or rice. Use just a tablespoon for lots of flavor! 15 miutes to prepare & cook.

Ingredients

1 Cup Peach Jam
2 Tbs. Lime Juice
1 Tbs. Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp. cayenne Pepper (or to taste)
1/8th tsp. Ground Ginger

Directions

Combine ingredients in sauce pan and bring to slow boil. Stir to keep from burning. Turn burner off and let cool 10 minutes before serving. Use sparingly.

Make this sauce healthier by using low or no sugar jam and low sodium soy sauce.

Number of Servings: 12

Nutritional Info

• Fat: 0.0g
• Carbohydrates: 13.4g
• Calories: 52.1
• Protein: 0.1g

Weigh to Whole~Breaking bread & other Stuff with friends.

I had a surprise today from an artistic friend of mine who will turn 67 2 days before I turn 60. She wanted to take me out to lunch before I went to the hospital & she need to run away from home, so to speak on it was her job which is also her passion. Like me she was born in N.O but spent the majority of her life in Northern Cal (me Southern Cali) so we are both Southern women with a West Coast groove.

Both of us return because we were compelled to to support & contribute to the 1st recovery, and now the revitalization of our beloved home with her getting her 3 years before I.

My artist friend is scattered, impulsive, moves like the wind, hard for many to "get" her ( I do).

But she is dead on as far as her passion here. So you put up with the scattering for all the other.

We went to after her driving down the street like Mr. Magoo as she wasn't sure where she wanted to dine. Like most artist self included funds are limited but you still want a good experience.

We settled to Sukho Thai restaurant on Magazine that I had been meaning to try upon my return & never could afford so I thought.

It turns out not only is the food absolutely delicious but the lunch menu is very affordable.

I had green curry with rice & chicken breast. And I am not a fan of chicken breast, but it was right on target. And I sat and listen to my friends grand plans of knocking on the door of the city Mayor to give him a peace of her mind (she, trust me cannot afford to lose any of her mind) :=) about his seemingly inability to look into the faces of people who are still displaced or struggling to re-carve a home back in the Lower 9th Ward.

I love her boldness & her passion. She has beautiful eyes and shows all the markings of her Houma Indian/African heritage. We talked about our shared history (I am Apache,French & African), about us being elder women, artists, visionaries...

It was a wonderful unexpected gift I had today. We will probably not see each other until I come and allowing for me to rest a few days. Generally we get together every couple of months although we only live 15 minutes away from one another.

Our lives are full, interesting and we are non-judgemental of one another. We are so different in appearance I am younger, taller & weigh bigger then she. She is sooo Berkeley, I'm more San Diego. She is completely gray, I am just starting to go grey, but oh hers is so striking!

Her last boyfriend decided he could not embrace her naturalness, i.e grey hair, so he left...

His loss...

Now in the middle of this I received a package from another artist friend of mine, a CARE package today filled with fabrics (we are fabric artist), a candle of my favorite scent-honeydew melon,even tissues as she knows I will cry, a "necklace" made of spools of threads, a Raggedy Ann doll, a new tissued collage ornament (one of her creations & an assortment of trinkets. Since she is out of state of course she cannot be here next week, but showed she cared in the best possible way.



Now for a shifting of paradigms. I finally sat down & looked at all my medical X-rays and Cat scans. 1st the human body is fascinating to see & it is rather intriguing seeing your "innards". While it was a WOW thing seeing how big the hernia was, but also how really small my bones are (They are healthy, I promise)

But when I saw surrounding the hernia the fat that I need to released, I did not feel badly, I felt determined. I also felt tenderness for myself & for my poor framed doing an extraordinary job of holding me up as I weighed it down.

I've said for the longest time, if we do not get rid of what' eating us, all the albeit successful weight loss one might have, it will come back to haunt you.

That is why I never use the word "loss" but release. You can use whatever you want: relinquished, vanquish, loss, but I know one thing for sure: when you lose something you will go back & find it.

Guarantee.

So while I have been working on a more healthful way of eating, I simultaneously worked on what was needed to make this successful release party, whatever length of time it took. I am not going to punish me or berate myself or torment myself in this process.

Those things never work anyway so I do not why people keep going that route instead of taking a different approach.

As I told the doctor, my family generally lives into the triple digits and I am not going to not follow that one tradition. Other things I have had to reform or reshape but I LIKE the idea of living & living well into the triple digits.

So all in all, an unexpected but a delightful way to spend a day, breaking bread & musing...

Curry This

I am on a curry kick today!


Chicken and Creamy Curry Wrap

Chicken and a savory sauce wrapped up.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 chicken breast, cut into cubes
cooking spray
2 tbsp light sour cream
1 tbsp red curry powder
1/2 cup lettuce
3 slices of tomato
1 "fajita sized" wheat tortilla


DIRECTIONS
Brown chicken with cooking spray in skillet.
Combine sour cream and curry in small bowl.
Warm up wheat tortilla for 20 seconds in microwave.
Once chicken is browned and cooked thoroughly place in warm tortilla, top chicken with sour cream and curry mixture.
Top with lettuce and tomato.
Wrap up tortilla.
Serve while warm.

Number of Servings: 1

Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 287.2
Total Fat: 8.2g
Total Carbs: 20.5g
Dietary Fiber: 11.1mg
Protein: 32.7g
See Full Information

Weigh to Sow~ doing something extraordinary on an Ordinary Day...

The beginnings of my green beans fruits
New Growth for my Bell Peppers


"Head in the Clouds" All rights reservedJHM©10

"Where the unusual occurs & miracles happens"~Dr. Dwayne Thomas 2002 CEO of University Hospital, New Orleans,La

(This quote is on the wall of the hospital where the story begins).

My story for the day (weigh to grow)

Before I had my last visit with the last part of the team I did a couple of things that pleased me to do. The people who yesterday had a change of heart after denying me access to a program that would have covered my medical expenses but in hearing my plight went above and beyond the call of duty. Because their humanity showed plainly, I decided I wanted to do something in turn for them.

I gave all 3 persons a miniaturized framed piece of my art that you see above.

I got to think how hard it must be for them on a daily basis of having to make decisions that can ultimately affect someone health. And how they probably on more then one occasion they may have been yelled at for doing what they have to do (I did not yell at them, but held my ground and my position).

I had told the initial contact person I would not forget her...

And I didn't...

So today before I had my appointment I walked in to present her, her boss & her boss' boss my art "Head in the Clouds". I am happy to say they were touched and said no one had every done something like that for them before. My response then was it was time and what a better person then me?

I did not do it to pat myself on my own back or to brag about it, but of course I did receive a reward in the sense that my endorphins rose and so was the happy feeling that lasted the rest of the day! As did my energy level & my pain level went down.

I then continued on to my appointment and got a lot of good news and also some poetic justice:

First of all systems are go now on the surgery.

And may I trill a lil bit here? My HDL/LDL is doing very well, no diabetes, no high cholesterol. I lost 5 pounds since last week AND my BP is 142/87.

Even the GP noticed I had a massive improvement since the last time my liver was checked in Nov and wondered what I was doing. I told him jokingly "been poor" ..

No, seriously, I have adjusted my eating starting with when I was across country and have continued to now. I was limited because of the hernia situation as to how much or often I could have physical activity, despite that limitation, I have improved.

Here is a big shout out to www.Sparks.com!

What has been in my control to change I have There were some external stressors I could not do a lot about (yet) but just like the turtle you just keeping moving steady.

Now for other stuff:

This morning I seeded my pots with tomatoes, mustard & collard greens, transplanted my squash into a large container & had my one and only mature displace okra plant moved to the back yard.

Since it was a tad bit cooler (who am I kidding?) I wanted to have them in the ground so I just plugged away. In the morning, I will plant Dahlias seeds, Kohl Rabi + Fennel as I want them to be germinating & growing while I am germinating and "chill-laxing" from the surgery.

A friend as offered to come in & tend to my veggies while I am recuperating . He has his own outside garden, so I know he will do well.

My upstairs neighbor Elisabeth will keep my flower front garden porch watered while I am down (?) Everything I have planted are in containers so it won't be difficult to maintain.

The other things I plan to grow does not have to be planted until Sept, so I will be up to grow by then. Since N.O has such a long growing season & a very mild winter thee are plenty opportunities. However because of our heat & humidity in the summer months certain plants and/or species have to be planted later then others. Like 'maters there are only a few species that grown well here like Creole tomatoes or Big Boy tomatoes but it is worth the wait.

And now I see the beginnings of green beans growing food! And happy new growth on the bell peppers. I am getting more eggplants bearing fruit. However, I had to pull one of my containers of cucumbers because they had gotten some kind of mold and I had to pull to save the other container. Because of the record setting 5 days of 100+ heat my cantaloupes were having an issue but seems to be rallying around now. I have 4 container so cantaloupes so if I lose some it will not be a biggy. I planted 4 as I wanted to donate some of the produce to one of the food banks since they get so little fresh fruits or veggies.


Sidebar:
PPL think that poor ppl are fat because of laziness when in actuality it is because of less access to healthy food. And most of the unhealthy food from places like Wal-Mart, (sad but true) are so much more accessible, cheap and taste good (for a minute). Peole should look into their own communities for groups like www.noffn.org assist them in starting their own gardens. The benefits are plenty!


Off sidebar:

I've learned to never underestimate what people can & will do or what YOU are capable of doing. Sow the seeds, water, nurture, fertilize and then watch it grow. Some times you have to deadhead so the plant keeps on blooming, sometimes you have to prune it back so it can grow and then others you have to pull it out by the roots and start anew. As Kenny Rogers in the song The Gambler "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away".

I will spare you my attempts to sing it.

Now excuse me while I go and do a happy dance!

Weigh to (not) Fold...

" Comfort & prosperity have never enriched the world as mush as adversity has. Out of pain & problems has come the sweetest songs & the most gripping stories"~ Billy Graham


Then Mr. Graham I must be Mighty Mouse :=)


As I down in countdown mode for my pending surgery on August 11th & have been running to the hospital everyday for more pre-opt testing, I've had a lot of time sitting there observing other people and looking at myself in all of this.

I've gotten a LOT of "aren't you afraid?" to "how is your spirit today" to even being called by people who have not been exactly supportive or not believing the serious of my condition the last 2 years thinking "if she would ONLY lose some weight" etc when my issue for this surgery is NOT about my weight.

I suspect in some cases their may be some guilt or wanting to have a conscience cleared just in case... (just in case what?).

Because (I am thankful for this) I have a pretty intact, hard-earned level of self esteem, some see me as being without feelings or wanting for a moment to rest or have someone take care of ME for a change, which hasn't exactly been forthcoming. Yes I am strong but I am also very human with all the accompanying emotions.

Am I scared? What I would fear more is NOT having the surgery! My body will not withstand much more of where I a right now. For those who may not know I am NOT having batriatic surgery.

I have a very distended hernia that has been the bane of my existence. It has badly encroached on my other organs . It is most definitely not " just a hernia"

Back to topic:

Well I haven't exactly had the time to be afraid as I scurry fro one thing after another prepping for when I come home since I have little to no help available and I have to be able to function as if I do not.

I cannot afford to come home from major surgery and not be able to care for my basic needs as I recuperate let along any of the normal things that has to continue to be done. When things like this occurred I am very focused and so do know how to prioritize.

I do not have the energy or time to look to the right or to the left, so fear cannot be part of the program..Not now & perhaps not later. But it would be so nice to be cared for, but I have to take care of what I know needs to be done especially when you are operating from air, wish & a prayer.

Trust me when I say I absolutely will let things fold on the wayside as I heal...

I do indeed have a few people with offers.

One of my neighbors will care for my veggie & flower gardens while I am recoup-ping. Another friend who is coming to be with me the day of my surgery to advocate for me if something happens while I am unconscious. Another who will pick up my mail and another who will drive me to the hospital and bring me home afterward when they discharge me.

Still another not in the area who have stepped up paying my utility bills so I can have access to the outside world while I am still w/o income. Still yet, a few total strangers who have aided me the last few days at the hospital intervening when bureaucratic errors threatened my surgery with a cancellation.

Sometimes money is not required, just a little TLC & recognition of one's humanity is in order.

I am strong but not impervious to hesitation or angst. I am not concrete although unfortunately, some people think if you have emotional & spiritual strength somehow translate to unfeeling or being like concrete.

However it is to the contrary.

I have to trust people who I do not know from the surgeon to the anesthesiologist, to the nurse or the orderly to do their job well. I have to trust many people who are links to my health & well being that they will do their utmost to care for me at a time when I cannot care for myself.

And I have to trust (and I do) that all will be well in the final analysis...

...Now I just to have make sure that my laundry is done and my bed is prep to receive me the day I come home from the hospital... (Moon scribbles on her to do list)

I am looking forward to being able to stand upright and being able to resume walking (well) in a few weeks.

I am looking forward to being able to really handle my cause & care but personally & professionally without impediments.

I am looking forward to being able to put my shoes on w/o it being a major undertaking.

Of being able to laugh w/o having to hold my stomach because it hurts to much.

To be able to sit up and create without it physically hurting me.

To be able to viable in every sense.

As I have said the alternatives w/o the surgery is what I would be more afraid of. I am not looking forward to being alone in this though I won't be completely alone.

I expect I will have a moment of fear when it is time to roll me into the room, but I am expecting the cute surgeon with the great green eyes to be good at what he does & I will be just fine.

If it is to be, it is up to me. Author Unknown