There’s an old saying in New England that if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute!

I remember feeling happy but rushed during the winter holiday season. I wanted the happy times to linger and I cherished the warmth inside. We didn’t even get much snow last winter. Fast forward 4 months and I have changed my mind. After 5 days of gray and rainy cold in Massachusetts, I need Spring and the sun!

Don’t get me wrong, I realize that the plants need the rain and the rest of us sentient beings need the water. I’m not asking for something that isn’t there; the sun is up there above these clouds shining on lots of people and things somewhere else.

So, life goes on and I am thankful that I don’t have any life threatening problems right now. I hope that you don’t either. I will never take my life for granted with or without problems but please….

Let me see the sun.         

I hope that you feel loved today. Valentines Day is one of those days when commercialism can take over and you feel that you don’t measure up or that you are not included. Maybe you have a date, maybe you don’t, maybe you are getting flowers, maybe you are not. Those are things that can be fun but don’t make your decision to feel loved today be based on them.

I learned a long time ago that in order to be happy I need to own the power that I have, use it, and then live with the decisions that I make. For me, I feel less of a victim to the negative aspects of life that I cannot control. I have said it before, I choose to love- it is a choice that I can make no matter what is going on in the world, my world. I don’t value romantic love over familial, religious, or other types of love. I realize that there are different types of love and that I can have them all or not; to me, that is incredibly fulfilling and powerful.

Valentines Day is important to me because it reminds me of the people and things that I love.  The bonus is that I mostly get loved back. I’m sending some of that love out to you.  Happy Valentines Day!

I don’t want to believe that the new year is here already but it is.  It’s not that I don’t look forward to the future because I do. Besides, the future is coming no matter what I think.

I guess that much like the warm sun on a summer’s day, I want to bask in the glory of good times. I have learned that no matter what is going on in my life, good or bad,that I am blessed, lucky, or what ever you choose to call it.  I am grateful to be alive to face what ever life throws towards me.

I may not win every game or get what I want or feel very cheerful but I sure am happy to be here to lose, complain and feel what I’m feeling. In my mind it is all good, even when it isn’t. 

I was enjoying the company of one of my cats the other day and observed how he arched his back and took every bit of pleasure from the rub that I gave him. He didn’t know how soon it would stop but he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.  I love to plan ahead but my cat showed me that being in the moment was just as important as thinking ahead.

During the Christmas season I was very busy and had the pleasure of seeing friends and family. I was able to have a Christmas tree, lights, and good food. I am extremely grateful for all of these things. I realize that there are many people who are suffering or are unhappy at this time of year. I think of them and pray that life will improve for them. I don’t deserve happiness more than they do, no one does. I understand that life ebbs and flows. I have been very ill, down, and unhappy. I may end up there again even though I don’t want to. Worry does not change any situation and preparation can only do so much. The good thing is that situations are not static and there is reason to hope for the best.

Happy New Year to all. It is another chance at life and another chance at contentment. I didn’t want the enjoyment I had last year to pass and of course, it did! Like the clock on New Years Eve, time moves on. I’m over it and I am happy to be here…with you. 

I was thinking about the activities that I take part in at this time of year and for a moment I was overwhelmed. The idea of being busy is nothing new we are all busy. Like many of you I am a worker/small business owner, spouse, parent, social justice activist and church goer. In between all of that I also try to take care of my health, maintain friendships, take care of animals and participate in volunteer activities. All of these actions are year round but with the sun setting earlier and earlier every day…

 Thanksgiving and Christmas are approaching. I have great and fun activities ahead. There will be meals to cook, there are always crafts to make or products to design. My creativity and energy level are being challenged yet I am thankful for the opportunities.

O.k. I’m over it now. I feel happy to have a very full life. I don’t take it for granted, in fact, I marvel at it. Thanksgiving and Christmas are looming- no last minute stuff here! I like to plan and then act on those plans.

The question now is, what do I do next?

Kim

We all have a lot on our minds these days. There are  a million things to do and places to go. So much that happens is out of our control. Just look at a newspaper or listen to the radio. Media of all sorts is reminding us of how scared we should be that everything is changing.

Well I have decided to embrace the fact that change is constant. Change reminds me that I am alive. No today is not the same as yesterday even if I am doing many of the same things that I did yesterday. Every day is a new opportunity- to do a lot or to do a little.

Accepting the reality that change is constant has been good for me. I am realizing that change will happen no matter what I do or don’t do so I don’t have to feel bad or sad about it. I can control what I can and when I can’t, accept it. This isn’t an original idea by any means but it seems more true to me now than it ever has. Maybe it is the season or watching the leaves change, my kittens grow, or the 20 tomatoes I just discovered growing in my garden today. Who knew that just before an October snow storm I would suddenly have this crop of tomatoes that I can’t pick?    

I can’t control time or change but I can look at both with renewed enthusiasm. I am grateful for happy surprises and joyful times. I can even provide some of them. My most important lesson has been to enjoy and accept both when they come my way and to “take” the time to do so….

Today is almost the last day of breast cancer awareness month. I have a lot to say on the subject and I’m a survivor. I won’t do a post on it today but through my daughter Kimba  http://kimbas2cents.blogspot.com/  and our good friend Marilyn http://theartsygirlconnection.blogspot.com/  you can watch  two different video’s featuring me and one of my projects. Please take a look, they have wonderful, positive and fun sites. Enjoy the change of scenery!   

The new stove is in and cooking is even more of a pleasure. I told you that I would share the recipe for the first meal that I cooked on the stove. I cooked stuffed shells and made a tomato sauce from scratch (but you can use a prepared sauce.) 

Ingredients:

15 large pasta shells, 8 oz, ricotta cheese,  6 oz. mozzarella cheese, 1 egg, Italian seasoning, garlic, onion, olive oil, butter, 8 oz. mushrooms, 3 cups of cherry tomatoes, 1 small can of tomato paste, 1 tbsp sugar. 

Here’s the recipe:

Sauce:  Chop and saute 3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 onion in a tablespoon or so of olive oil with a teaspoon of butter until translucent. Add chopped mushrooms and whole cherry tomatoes. There will be a good amount of liquid from the mushrooms and tomatoes- don’t pour it out! Add tomato paste, sugar and a about a cup and 1/2 of water. Include salt, pepper and some of the dried herbs to taste. Simmer until tomatoes have broken down and sauce bubbles mildly. This usually takes about 45 minutes. Pour enough of the sauce to cover bottom of ovenproof dish.

If you decide to use prepared sauce, pour some in bottom of oven proof dish. You can enhance the flavor by sauteing some mushrooms and onions in olive oil and then add those to the sauce. 

a serving of stuffed shells

Shell filling:

Beat one egg into 8 oz. ricotta cheese.  Add dried herbs to mixture. Fill shells. Place shells in sauce, cover with remaining sauce. Top with mozzarella. Heat in 350 degree oven until cheese melts- this takes approximately 20 minutes.

Enjoy!               

stuffed shells