month in a nutshell

The month of April, almost over, was the busiest month for me, even though I thought last year this month was, when one of my favorite people got married.

Although I spend the month, rekindling family get togethers, bridal showers, business lunches and company after work happy hours, not to mention moving friends across the state,  I had enough time to think about what I foresee in the near future – meaning the next 6 months remaining for 2013, for myself.

I had set goals, like everyone else at the beginning of the year and one by one, the daily challenges, altered my course or direction.  However, I haven’t forgotten what I needed to do still and so, I wrap up this month with a laundry list of things yet to achieve.

1. Launch book to kindle and other electronic reading tools
2. Work with a personal trainer to sculpt my body
3. Manage a garage sale in an effort to downsize
4. Donate entire wardrobe and revamp my style
5. Travel with those near and dear to me – even for a week
6. Re-establish Sunday afternoon tea time with my mother
7. Consider renovating the bathroom
8. Open an Etsy account to sell my paintings.
9. Recharge my blog(s)
10. Partake in events surrounding the America’s Cup in San Francisco

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refueling my brain

I never realized, actually I am lying. I have always known the weather plays a major role in my ability to stay creative while I write or discuss my inspirations.  So, since it’s been cold and rainy here in San Francisco for the past week as if we jus stumbled upon Winter, I find myself being completely uninspired.

To make a long story short, I am taking a day to refuel my brain. Thank you all for your patience and for continuing to send  emails asking for more   brb.

having one of those weeks

Once in a while, we all have one of those moments, one of those hours, one of those days, one of those weeks and so on. Well this week, it seems I am having one of those…Maybe it’s the time change, maybe it’s the stress of the realities, not sure, but I think I will take the rest of the week to gather my thoughts and return hopefully refreshed and full of hope.

Thanks for your patience.

i don’t know how she does it – with sarah jessica parker

Well I couldn’t pass up writing about the film I Don’t Know How She Does it, because being a multi-tasking woman myself, I sometimes ask myself “I Don’t Know How I Do It” and I am sure many of you do as well.

Finally, and I repeat, finally a film about the realities of a working woman’s life in America and most any where else in the world embracing the same lifestyle as we do here.

Anyway, without saying much, watch the trailer so you can see where I am coming from and considering it is Sarah Jessica Parker in the starring role, I am certain the film will put a dent at  the box office.

What do you think, will you see the film?

a sentimental day

Looking back, I have been told, is never a good thing, but once in a while I find myself having the need to look back thirty plus years,  just to escape the complexities of today’s world.

The funny thing is, as my mind  reflects on  most of my amazing childhood,  I subconsciously or perhaps just by pure accident come across  online photographs  which, I could have sworn, were taken from a time during my childhood.

You see my parents, along with the entire clan on my father’s side and sometimes my mothers went on picnics in the mountains of a place where I was born, but back then I had no idea how precious those days were, I simply took them for granted and played about without a care in the world.

Fast forward to my adult life and the need to escape the daily chaos, I spend a good amount of time reflecting on those amazing moments and when I come across a photograph which reminds me of that time, I add it to my collection just in case I need to mental escape.

jennifer aniston – a woman over 40

I can’t help it, I have to give credit where credit is due and in this case, Jennifer Aniston deserves a hand of applause for making this woman over 40 feel inspired to go from

This boring look

To this sexy look I dream of duplicating

{For photo resources, please click here}

 

mental therapy: stop and smell the roses

I am not sure if many of you are familiar with the term ‘stop and smell the roses” well if not, just to give you a background. In the US we have alot of sayings to feed the soul but sometimes we forget to practice what we preach.

So, after a week of torment and undo stress, I decided last night, even though the weather is the worst in San francisco right now, to take a walk through my favorite neighborhood (Seacliff) and smell the flowers along the way, just to give myself the long overdue mental therapy I so very much deserved.

I must say it worked and when I got home and retired for the night, I actually fell asleep and stayed asleep through the entire night. Find something to escape to even if only for a few minutes out of your busy life. I highly recommend it.

trim your waste healthy recipe: eggs italiano

The older I get the more I watch what I eat. Nothing new to anyone over the age of 40. But what I find really challenging is incorporating healthy cooking techniques to my favorite fatty food intake.

Despite the fact I totally love eggs benedict, I only  eat it once every three months for the sake of keeping a healthy eating habit. However,  since I found the perfect recipe here to eat what I love and still keep it healthy (plus trim my wasteline), I have added eggs benedict to my bi-monthly sunday brunch. Check it out.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pound zucchini, (about 2 medium), diced
• 12 ounces plum tomatoes, (3-4), diced
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 8 large eggs
• 4 whole-wheat English muffins, split and toasted
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION

1. Fill a large, straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil. Add white vinegar.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in zucchini and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in 1 tablespoon basil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, reduce the boiling water to a gentle simmer; the water should be steaming and small bubbles should come up from the bottom of the pan. Crack each egg into a small bowl and slip them one at a time into the simmering water, taking care not to break the yolks. Cook for 4 minutes for soft set, 5 minutes for medium set and 8 minutes for hard set. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to a clean kitchen towel to drain.
4. To serve, top each muffin half with some of the vegetable mixture, an egg, a sprinkling of cheese and the remaining basil.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 329 calories; 14 g fat ( 4 g sat , 6 g mono ); 425 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrates; 22 gprotein; 5 g fiber; 675 mg sodium; 570 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (43% daily value), Vitamin A (26% dv), Folate (22% dv), Potassium (16% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 medium-fat meat

 

happy blog anniversary to me

One year ago, I decided to start a blog different than my other blog here. I dabbled at first at another blogger site and after a few entries and not knowing which direction I wanted to go, I opted to join the WordPress family to get inspired.

Sure enough, within a week I knew what I wanted to write about and quickly imersed myself into the project. One year  later, here I am with over 50,000 hits worldwide and several hundred, subscribed loyal followers. Not bad if you ask me for a years worth of work.

However, I hope year two will inspire me enough to keep the blog alive and fresh for my readers and for myself. I want to thank everyone for encouraging me to continue and praising me for a job well done. I can honestly say, if it weren’t for this blog, I  would probably be working at Starbucks to get my pop culture on

With sincere appreciation, your truly
Manya