10 Flu Essentials

Urgh.  A virus got me!

I'm recovering, but it's always annoying to be under the weather - and I'm in that state more than I'd like even without nasty opportunistic virii!

What do I do to feel better quicker?

1. NUTRITIOUS, TASTY FOOD

Here's what I made tonight.

I don't have much energy left, but I'm glad I have good food to eat!

I used this recipe as a base, but I made all sorts of changes to it . . . 

because that's how I am!.

I didn't use split peas (I don't like them), so I doubled the amount of lentils.

I don't particularly like soup, so I decreased the amount of veggie broth and added lentil rotini noodles to make this into a casserole instead.

It was quick, easy, and really really tasty.  The turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, so I'm sure it's busy doing its job in my body!

The other day I made pineapple juice-sauteed veggies with millet,

and I was glad I had made a bunch of stuff so I had leftovers when I was at my sickest.

I also made chocolate-chip buckwheat pancakes, and there were leftovers of these, too!

AND peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!

AND Ethiopian berbere lentils!

These ended up being too spicy for me, but I'm pretty sure 

Greg will like them (perhaps over mashed potatoes!)

2.  GOOD READING MATERIAL

Honestly, my brain hasn't been fit for reading, but I did a couple of super easy Sudoku puzzles

and browsed this VegNews magazine.  Can't manage anything too taxing while my brain is busy healing.  I also have Joel Fuhrman's "Super Immunity" in my stack.  I've read it before, but this is a great time for a re-read!

3.  PRETTY, COZY BEDDING & BLANKETS

Most of my time has been on the couch because I don't like being in bed all day long and I like the view from my couch better, but when I do climb into bed, 

I'm really happy that my sheets and blankets are coordinated and homey. 

two contrasting sheet sets - Tommy Hilfiger (Ross)
flannel blanket - TJ Maxx
quilt: handmade, gift from Greg's Mom

Do you see that the quilt is cat heads?

4.  CATS

I probably should have mentioned them first!

Allistair and Stephen have been recovering from their own illness

(thankfully it seems to be settling down now!), and they've been eager to cuddle.

Whenever I'm feeling a bit down and discouraged, someone crawls into my lap.

This morning, Claude was the one to come to my emotional rescue.

They truly are gifts!

Close-up:

5. NATURE 

I haven't felt well enough to get out and walk, but

I certainly have felt well enough to look from the couch out the window 

at our cactus garden and trees.

Last week we had some rain, and our yard is responding.

This is Melvin, our most prolific cactus.

He's only about 6" tall, but every time it rains, he blooms up a storm!

BEAUTIFUL!

This is a dead piece from another very interesting cactus.

One of our Chinese Elm trees.

6. TV, MOVIES, NETFLIX

I've been watching a lot of

Columbo

Diganosis Murder

and Star Trek (mostly "Enterprise" at the moment, 

but I can feel a "Deep Space 9" marathon coming up!)

7. Lip balm 

Here's my favorite:

8.  Tissues with lotion!

Here are some nice ones:

9.  Sparkling Water

When normal water doesn't taste good (because nothing tastes right!),

sparkling water is hitting the spot for me.

10.  HAPPY MEMORIES

When I don't feel well, I often don't believe I'm going to feel well again.

I don't feel like a real human being, and I somehow feel as if I have lost my personality.

It helps to look at photos and remember who I am!

Here are some of my recent happy memories.

Last Wednesday, Greg and I had dinner at Barro's Pizza with my parents.

On Tuesday before I got sick, Cindy and I took a walk through the Gilbert Riparian Preserve.

We saw all sorts of crazy birds and a bunch of rabbits.

On Wednesday before I got sick, my Mom and I had a shopping day.

This one was Macy's.  We found GOOD stuff and had a lovely time.

Every family adventure is precious to me, especially since our families are not around most of the time.

Here I am for the required fitting room photo!

blouse: Karl Lagerfeld (TJMaxx)
jeans: INC International Concepts (Macy's)
bag: ABage (Amazon)
shoes: Target

We went out for a late lunch afterwards - to Panera!

Those are my Mom's pretty hands.

I usually have an adapted fuji apple salad (no chicken, no cheese, throw on as many veggies as possible!)

And Wednesday evening, Greg and I had dinner with my parents!

We went to Chipotle.  The pico de gallo was a little too spicy for me this time, 

but it was delicious and delightful.

My Mom and I were already feverish with sore throats, but we had a lovely time all together.

We went for frozen yogurt afterwards - 

I was happy to see they had vegan gluten-free sorbet on offer, too!

Here's my cozy warm outfit with jacket and scarf.

faux-leather jacket: Levi's (Amazon)
scarf (it has GOLD threads running through it!): Target

Stay healthy, and I hope you have your own coping strategies if you DO catch something!

xo

Post-Christmas Hike With Cindy

The weather has been VERY beautiful here!

I have been a bit discouraged that I had a big energy downturn after Christmas,

but Greg and I got to take a lovely hike and Cindy and I did, too!

The memories make me happy, especially on the days I am not able to do as much

as I would like.

Look at our pretty skies!

My favorite hike is really more of a clamber up the side of a steep rocky hill

above Canyon Lake.  It's quiet and the landscape is fantastic.

I only share this hike with my very favorite people!

The rocks have lots of interesting patterns, colors, and inclusions.

Like quartz!

This brown streak looked like a crumbled down wall all packed into the ground!

There we are! I'm waving.

The sun was shining in such a way that our shadows were often quite noticeable.

There are a lot of different colors and textures in this area in the rocks and plants.

There are quite a few cairns to mark the path, but they are small

and difficult to notice.

We found most of them on the way down! 

This isn't really a "trail" for of hike; it's more of an adventure, climbing any which way seems best at the time.  That's one of the reasons I really like this hike.

We didn't really need the cairns.

But we like them when we see them!

I've started adding rocks to the cairns I see to make them a little taller.

Here's another one!

And another one!

And some more!

Look at that view!

Do you see the fancy boat? 

And even the United States Postal Service delivers out there!

Going down this spiny part is my favorite part.

It was a great day and I was happy to spend Cindy's last day of Christmas break (besides the weekend) with her!

I found a few outfits in my camera, too, that I thought I'd share.

This one was comfy and cute for a Saturday of laundry, cleaning, and getting some groceries.

t-shirt (Maison Jules, Macy's
camisole: JKY by Jocket, Target
jeans: INC International Concepts, Macy's

This one was for a day of working at home and some errands.

sweater: Target
pants: SoHo Apparel, Ross
socks: Target
slippers: Ross
bag: ABage, Amazon

Close-up:

This was from today.

I took the photos early in the morning before I left for church,

so the lighting isn't great.

I liked the outfit, though.

blouse: Target
skirt: Dani's Choice, Amazon
bag: ABage, Amazon

I really like the little ruffle that goes across the front of the blouse

and up over the shoulders.  It's very feminine.

The pattern is feminine and delicate, too; it's tiny squarish flowers that are 

modern and dainty at the same time.

I wore these Bandolino shoes with poufs on the toes (Amazon).

It was chilly when I left, so I also wore a cognac faux-leather jacket (Levi's, Amazon)

and a big gray scarf with gold threads running through it (Target).

Our neighbor Jordan has an extravagant garden in his backyard.

The most recent gift from this Eden is a loofah squash!

Once it's dried out, it works just like a rough loofah!

I chopped it up and am using it in the shower to exfoliate.  Very cool!

I'm typing right this minute on the couch with Columbo on in the background.

It's a very soothing show:

he solves every crime with excellent music by Henry Mancini and fabulous costumes.

The cats like it when I sit still and provide appropriate levels of snuggles.

Allistair:

Allistair & Stephen

Claude

More sweet fluffy Claude:

They are always doing funny stuff, too, of course:

If you have a cat, does s/he sit on your journal, Bible, newspaper, book, computer?

Mine do!

Juvy

This week I have lots of appointments and quite a few Chirp Curriculum binders to ship (hooray!)

Churches can subscribe to easily receive the next binder in the sequence without any additional effort on their part, and it's turning out to be a popular service.  I got another new subscriber this morning!

I love thinking about all the kids and families and volunteers  from all these churches who are learning more about how much God loves them through the curriculum lessons I've written.

It's a wonderful job to have.

Have a wonderful start to your brand-new week!