Let's Start With Shoes

Hello 2020.  Let me start.

I love shoes.  Not in the way that most will expect or inclined to be.  I do not have gazillion pairs...I do not care  for fashion and however a pair can make one definitive statement about  what I can afford and how far I have gone.  My shoes - currently pared down to just 24 pairs - crossing over 4 seasons (deliberately and out of necessity)  each one a mirror to my self.  So I like them basic, comfortable, age / function / weather appropriate and slightly quirky. 

To understand my choices of footwear is to know that I am eternally preppy-ish (stuck in the 80's) and believe that simple is sophistication.  So while I am in awe and admire those who can really rock and run in a stiletto; in boots to the beach and have blings and the rainbow in their feet, its just not for me.  I like wearing a pair that keeps me grounded and confident - and I want my stride to show that. And the big question that begs to be answered - How can one see the beauty that is Life  (as told to us) if my feet is in excruciating pain.  I am aware that I will be judged by my footwear  - but (I tell myself) they have not walked in my shoes. That's my story to tell :-)

I am sharing my kick-off shoes for the new decade - A Retro-Classic 515 New Balance Black and Gold Speckled Sneakers.  This pair was given to me by my husband, Eric. Won't break the bank nor will it say I have arrived.  He knew down pat that I would love it..  Because it is so me.  So very me.  For sure, this 25th pair will make me take big steps all through 2020 many more years down the road. 

There,  Done.  Back in the lane, and hopefully staying there.

 

SHAMPOO

What life skill do i need to be able to consume my bottle of Conditioner as I do my bottle of Shampoo ?

I have to have them in the same brand, variant and size.  I am also continuously trying out new ones. Currently I have 5 bottles with 1/3 left on each.  Such a waste.

In dire need of a calibration mechanism for this.

This also applies to my Toyo (Soy sauce) & Suka (Vinegar).  It was never a problem for my Patis (Fish sauce).

WOES OF WINTER

It is dreadfully cold where I am now.

It takes so much of dressing to keep warm, even indoors with the heater on.  My OOTD (outfit-of-the-day)  is the hood-rat look. Pajamas, 2 shirts, a house duster over it, a robe, a hoodie, socks, fluffy slippers. My fashion peg is just grab whatever it is you can find that will add heat.  This also applies to going outdoors -- everything and anything - if I could I would my comforter  just to keep warm.   It boggles my mind HOW others looks so fabulously-smashingly-put-together -- winterized color-coordinated-fashion-forward-everything-spot-on because in MY reality its never gonna be like that.  Mine is mismatched and misfired.

Hair.  The upside is that I don't need to wash my hair daily.  3-4 times a week is damaging in itself.  I love it that you get to do all sorts of styles with your hair -- pony, the upswept, bedhead, clamp-it-up and still look fabulous - only because no one really has well coiffed hair. Even if you wear a Tiara to dazzle up the drab do or have your hair standing on end because of static no one notices no one judges,

Skin  - face and body needs major buttering up. There is so much  (dry) skin shedding this season, it takes the place of dust around the house.   Your face is so tight - there is a constant fear that it will tear up where the wrinkles are.  You wake up and barely want to wash off  your sleep for the damage it will do you end up going back to bed (that is the winter-plus).   Time and budget is required to meet the basics.  You also need to re-arrange your house as the bare essentials of potions will need its own walk-in cabinet.

Wardrobe.  Currently limited to 2 colors - Black and Black.  And so is my  footwear, down to 4 - sneakers, dress boots, winter boots and galoshes.  Headgear  - I have bonnets, toques, bands, ear muffs.   Gloves are also "classified" - for driving (better have a good grip on the wheel as you need a different set of driving skills just to arrive alive); dressy, leather, nylon and the life saving sub-zero grade.  Socks - this is the most disposable item -  I need to own at least 3 dozens to survive the season because of lost, mismatched and the dreaded hole in the toe.  I also need a wide assortment of scarves to go with the temperature as well as the dexterity to tie them 1000 knot ways - I thank You tube videos for that.

Weight.  Oh  my Lord !!!!!!  Its biting cold, so you want to bite back with food.  You are ALWAYS hungry.  Enough said. Change topic.

REFRESH

Over the the first weekend of the new year, I found time to do some cleaning, throwing and sorting - not confined to my house only, but also in my digital world.  I went through my emails and my cloud storage, my playlists, my archived pictures, my laptop, my mobile phone  to clean it up and put things in order.  It was like purging.  I dont remember doing a grand sweep last year nor the years before so I found it to be relief.  I  would at times just clean up the surface or whatever it is in front of me.   Like everyone who has done it before I realized that i have accumulated so much through the years - the excess and  the useless.  While it showed me my hoarder-nature it was also some kind of My-life-in-Review.  I can remember highlights and downturns, success and failures, pain and suffering, joy and happiness - but nothing like seeing it somehow, documented.  I went through each of them and felt, again the emotions behind each one.  I felt lighter, As they all say, hindsight is always 20/20. While I have deleted some I dont regret any each served a lesson.

Which brings me now to here. Start of another year,  an auspicious time to re-start.   I started this blog back in 2009.  The reason behind it then was that everybody seemed to have one.  I also felt I was at a crossroad - largely due to our impending move to Canada.  But really, because I think i have much to say and I needed a venue to do so. Even if i was the only one who reads it.  It was also a forum where i can say and share without the pressure and fear of judgement.  After all, its not like Facebook where somehow you needed to conform.  You can share without worrying that it could be misconstrued or worse, a statement alluding to someone in the loop.  But then again, it does happen in Facebook.  Sometimes we feel violated and violate others too when we post things that ran contrary to other peoples sensibilities and sensitivities.  Oftentimes it is not intentional as Facebook would have this thing of sharing it.  We end up vicariously enjoying most, if not all and at times we get irritated as well.  Nonetheless, to most of us it has become a lifeline of some sort, fellowship abound - where friendships are made and kept. 

My last entry was in April 2013. Its close to 3 years ago its high time to refresh this blog.  I will not withhold, nor self-censor, I will not conform. It may at times be self-indulgent or controversial but this is going to be real as it gets. For me.  I am posting this in my Facebook account for others to know of its presence.  You may or may not follow it. But if you do view this blog on your own volition, please take all that I share with an open mind and the right context.  

I have been keeping a private journal in the recent past  so I have much to write about - I just hope I have enough time to do so.  

Happy New Year and Welcome to my Blog.

I 

Cheesy

Great Idea from KIMBERLY KUEBLER... Magawa nga today :-)


CHEESY PULL-APART BREAD

INGREDIENTS:
1 large loaf or boule-style Italian bread (Sourdough or French could also work)
½ cup butter (unsalted or salted is fine), melted
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a sheet of heavy-duty foil with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Cut a cross-hatch pattern into the top of the bread by slicing ½-inch grid lines into the bread, stopping about ¼-inch from the bottom of the bread so that it stays together. Place the bread on the piece of foil that has been sprayed.

3. Stir together the melted butter, garlic and scallions.

4. Gently separate the bread with your fingers, then spoon the butter mixture in all of the seams, making sure it is evenly distributed among the whole loaf. Wrap the loaf up in the foil and place on a baking stone or directly on the oven rack and bake for 10 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

6. Open the foil and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the bread. There will be a lot of cheese, so try to push down as much as you can in between all of the crevices in the bread. Leave the foil open and return it to the oven. Bake until the cheese is completely melted, bubbling and starting to brown on top, about 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving, then sprinkle with parsley (if desired) and dig in!

Spring has sprung

FINALLY!

I am so sick sick sick of snow. Another 6 months ow warm-er weather for now. 

Frenemy

 

 

"Who is mighty? That person who can control their own emotions and make, of an enemy, a friend." ~ Talmud