The Ever Elusive Sandman

Three in the morning.  Tossing.  Turning.  Blankets on.  Blankets off.  Am I awake for the day? Or can I settle back down and rest? 

Now that it's summer, I shouldn't worry at all about being alert or on my toes.  When you're facing a classroom full of 35 fifth graders, it's a totally different story.  Now that it's summer, and my retirement has begun, I just have to be awake enough to make casual conversation with my husband and not burn breakfast. 

So it's not school or work related; it's the best kind of stress:  EUSTRESS.  Have you heard of it?  It is stress that is deemed healthful or giving one the feeling of fulfillment.  This is the week of my little sister's wedding.  This is the week that we will travel cross-country and reconnect with family and familiar faces.  I have looked forward to this since Christmas when my little sister sent me a text message and a picture of her engagement ring, sharing her big news.

My mind is racing with packing lists and gift ideas, travel itineraries and hotel reservations, doggy daycare for Marley and car rental agreements.  Travel is so exciting, and at times, a little overwhelming. 

There are so many people I know and love in Virginia.  It is not the place of my birth, but it is the place I called home from infancy until high school graduation.  There are so many directions to which my heart is pulled.  I want to see everyone and I can never stay long enough because it seems there's always another visit to make and another place to go . My husband will meet my Virginia relatives for the first time.  My girlfriends from high school are gathering next weekend for a potluck lunch, and a rare chance to visit outside of Facebook. 

It's now five in the morning.  I've taken a warm bath and sipped a cup of Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime Tea.  I gathered the items I was afraid I would forget to pack.  Sleep is so elusive at times, but perhaps I should give it another go.  Perhaps the sandman will come for a second time before the sun comes up.  Here's hoping...

Cookie Dough Hummus (Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip)...Dipping a Toe in the Vegan Water

Inspired by our recent TV viewing featuring a vegan lifestyle, we wanted to try to incorporate more healthy alternatives in our snacking repertoire.  This is my first attempt at making a sweet hummus.  I browsed online, looking for something we might like.  Other recipes I found had added sugars or whole-fat peanut butter.  I wanted my first exposure to limit the sugars and extra fat, so I subbed in stevia and peanut powder (PB2, specifically). Honestly?  I think a little brown sugar would have made this PERFECT, but this recipe is pretty darn good for a snack with so much nutrition!  Try it; see what YOU think!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hummus (by SHRINKMOM)

Submitted by: SHRINKMOM 

View the original recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hummus

Introduction

Cookie dough without the guilt and loads of nutrition. Use as a dip for apples, graham crackers...or even better, just use a spoon!

Minutes to Prepare: 10

Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans
4 T. PB2 (powdered peanuts)
1/8 c. water
1 t. vanilla
1 T. pure maple syrup
4 t. stevia (more or less, to taste)
1 dash salt
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Tips

Creates about 12 two tablespoon servings.

Directions

Drain and rinse beans. Add everything except the chocolate chips to the food processor. Blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Let cool in fridge for at least an hour.

Serving Size: Makes 1 2/3 c. of "cookie dough"

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 77.7

• Total Fat: 1.8 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 148.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 13.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.3 g
• Protein: 3.0 g

View full nutritional breakdown of MAKEOVER: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Hummus (by SHRINKMOM) calories by ingredient

Le Beau Citron (Fresh Limeade)...Trying to Give Up Soda AGAIN

Yesterday's goal was to drink healthier. I conscientiously avoided soda in the morning, and by the time the hectic-ness of my afternoon was over, I didn't really want it. Our secret survival weapon? Iced water and fresh-squeezed limeade. "So refreshing!" exclaims the husband. We sweeten it with stevia and flavor it with a sprig of mint. 

I've tried cutting out soda before,but never really noticed a difference...like dropping a quick 30 pounds, so why bother? We've been watching all of the propaganda movies (my term) on Netflix, and I really feel like some of my habits are out of control and that perhaps there are more important things than losing weight to be gained from eating a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and unprocessed foods. (The movies? Hungry for Change, Food Matters, Forks over Knives, Frankensteer... with several more in our queue.) So, I'm trying to become more moderate. Yes, I must subject myself to extreme viewpoints to try to find a point of balance. It's like shock therapy for this junk food junkie at heart.

We were introduced to the freshly squeezed limeade at the Ogden Arts Festival Saturday.  A lone young man was running his stand, trying to keep up with the demand for his yummy drink.  I watched carefully, so I could go home and make my own version of his Le Beau Citron.  And here it is, the recipe to make a quart of this summery nectar.

Le Beau Citron

1.  Squeeze the juice from two limes into a Mason jar (to be authentic!)

2.  Add a sprig of mint, twisting the leaves to release the oil (trust me, you'll want the mint, and I'm not mint's biggest fan)

3.  Sweeten to taste (we like three packets of stevia in ours)

4.  Fill the jar with water and ice.  
5.  Seal the jar and shake the contents rhythmically, adding hip movement, if desired.

Drink directly from jar, unless you have more drinks to make! 

*Confessions of a Word Geek

Way back when, when I lived in Virginia and was a student in junior high, I had the privilege of competing in the school spelling bees.  Oh, what a fun event that was for someone like myself! Until.  UNTIL that moment when the competition was down to the final two:  my brother Kevin and me.  (This would be a good time to tell you that I was in 8th grade; he was in 7th.)  The word I was given was PLASTIC.  I had this!  The trophy would be mine, mine, mine!  We had a box of cutlery, PLASTIK brand cutlery, in our pantry that I had seen on a daily basis for the last couple of years. 

Oh!  This was too perfect.  How could I get such an EASY word after all of the challenging words we had spelled to get to this point?  Needless to say, when that irritating DING of the bell reached my ears, I was in utter disbelief.  Kevin not only spelled PLASTIC, but he went on to spell his word correctly and won the spelling bee.  And I learned a little humility.

One evening when I was a freshman at BYU, the girls in my apartment were sitting around the table.  I must have been looking at my geography book, or perhaps a map, when I blundered into the conversation with confidence, asking where the Red Buttes were. Here, let me assist you.  I didn't ask about the (byoots), I asked about the (butts).  Everyone howled with laughter.  In my defense, I was from Virginia.  We don't have buttes and "cricks."  We have hollers and crEEks.  Yes, thank you, I will have a little slice of that humble pie.

It wasn't until later in college that I made the mortifying discovery when writing out a check that I had been misspelling FORTY all of my life.  "Fourty" made perfect sense, and I had never questioned it.  Glad I caught it BEFORE I became a teacher.

Marley on the CHAISE LONGUE

A couple of years ago, I was enjoying my summer vacation reading magazines.  By the way, I'm not one of those teachers who zealously attacks student work with a red pen, circling with devilish glee spelling errors, but I LOVE finding spelling errors in print, so it was with great satisfaction I detected "chaise longue" in the Oprah magazine, of all places. Then, with some reflection, I wondered if there were a chance that I could be wrong. I Googled the spelling on my phone and discovered, much to my dismay, that indeed, CHAISE LONGUE is correct, but as Americans, we have misspelled the word as CHAISE LOUNGE so much, there is actually a dictionary entry for it, incorrect as it may be!  If I had only used my French minor degree, I would have understood the connection:  a long chair is a CHAISE LONGUE.  I just thought it was a chair for lounging, and a "chase lounge," as I said it, sounded correct to me!

Just recently, I embarrassed myself with a pronunciation faux pas in the presence of friends, one of whom worked for a newspaper and is a bit of a word geek himself.  I used this particular word without hesitation, having seen it in print sporadically throughout my life, but when said newsman heard it, he did an obvious double-take and repeated the word with a big fat question mark at the end. The word in question was BROOCH.  Now I know how to say POOCH and MOOCH, so I assumed I knew how to say BROOCH.  Ha ha ha!  Oh, dear.  I stood corrected. 

These are the stories I share with my students, who have these little A-HA moments on a regular basis.  I let them know we are all still learning, even old gals like me.  I will forever be honing my word skills, it seems.  How can someone who knows so MANY words well,  perform so miserably with a certain few?  I'm human.  And luckily, I have a sense of humor about my weaknesses.

At rare times, I proceed with caution with words about which I am unsure.  In the privacy of my home, with access to my trusty dictionary and the internet, I reassure myself and double-check meanings and pronunciations and spellings.  But when I'm in PUBLIC, and I am speaking, I just do the best I can.  Do I still make mistakes?  Oh, certainly.  It gives me something to think about, and as long as I'm still learning, I can keep my pride in check. 

Hiking My Way Back to the Girl I Used to Be

There is a children's song I know with these lyrics, "When we're helping, we're happy, and we sing as we go..."  I find this tune running through my head when I'm hiking in the great outdoors, and of course, I change the words to suit me, and it comes out like this, "When I'm HIKING, I'm happy, and I sing as I go..."

What is it about hiking that speaks to our spirit?  It wasn't until I was in college in Utah that I actually began hiking.  We did midnight hikes in Hobble Creek Canyon, day hikes to Mount Timpanogos, and overnight hikes in the beautiful Uintahs.  I had hiked alone, with my Lab Gordon, on dates, and with small groups of friends.  There never seemed to be a bad way to go.  

"A bad day hiking is still better than a good day at school," seemed to be our motto.  Hiking in those days was a great stress reliever, and a welcome break from classes.  Having this first-hand experience with nature seems to settle my soul.

After college and early on in my teaching career, I was married and had children.  It never seemed feasible for me to take my little ones. People do it, and I wish I had persevered, but through no one's fault but my own, I just didn't do it.

I tried to enjoy the mountains in my own way, bouncing along in our old truck to scout for deer, or elk, or bear.  We checked traps and did little short walks from the truck to the traps and back again. I would walk while my family fished.  I never was much for hunting and fishing, and somehow I allowed those activities to detract from my connecting with nature.

Colorado Rocky Mountain High 2012

After my 22 year marriage ended, I knew that I would have to make my way back to the Granola Girl I left behind those many years ago.  Hiking was the natural solution, and it has helped me reconnect with my children, and myself.

It has been my extreme pleasure to hike with my grown children.  I feel like I have had to make up for missed opportunities when they were younger. We hike the deserts and mountains near Saint George with Dylan, Colorado with Sierra, and central and southern Utah with Bridger.  

We have all grown closer through these outdoor experiences. Having adventures is what adds more depth and dimension to our lives.  Hiking gives us opportunities for private reflection,  quiet conversation, and finding humor in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

We keep adding hikes to our bucket list. The longer my list grows, the happier I am. This year I hope we make it to Angels' Landing in Zion National Park. I want to explore the trails above Monrovian Park on Monroe Mountain. A visit to the Grand Canyon is long overdue; I've never seen it, and I have lived in the Rockies since 1979! I know that when I'm hiking, I'm happy. And there's a lot to be said for being happy!

Man's Best Friend? Or a Beast of Burden? Hiking Calf Creek Falls with Our Boston

Go early, we thought. It will be cooler, we thought.  Perhaps we should have considered the role the sun plays when it is hanging in the sky, once any trace amounts of dew have evaporated and the desert rocks start to absorb the sun's rays.



Lower Calf Creek Falls
Boulder, Utah

Bridger and I left early, we thought, to beat the heat, we thought.  Apparently, six A.M. is not early enough if one is hiking in southern Utah.  Lower Calf Creek Falls is more than two hours away from our sleepy little town.  We should have left in the middle of the night.  Or even the day before.  We could have stayed in a nearby campground or air-conditioned motel.  As it turns out, we were on the trail by 10:10. And it was already turning into a cooker.



Our Boston Terrier seems to enjoy hiking days, so he was along for the walk, too.  In retrospect, that was NOT a good idea.  Not today.  Not here.  We were taking bets as to when he would flop in the shade and refuse to go any further.  He didn't even make it all the way to the falls before he was showing signs of resistance.  Marley pants like any normal dog, under the circumstances.  It's what he does when he has had enough that baffles the dog whisperer in me. He simply refuses to move.  We tug on his leash, and he is dragged in the sand. We whistle, we beg, we offer words of encouragment.  His passive-agressive nature is what surfaces when
temperatures soar and moods plummet. 

What's a hiker to do?  We took every opportunity to dunk him in the creek to cool him off.  We offered water.  We kept his coat damp.  We rested in the shady spots that are sporadically available along the trail.  Every once in awhile, we hoisted him up and carried him along the way.  It worked, for awhile.




When we reached the water falls, we all relished the breezes and the misty droplets in the air. We took off our shoes and relieved our feet in the cold moutain water.  Marley seemed to be somewhat rejuvenated.  After playing in the water and taking in the scenery for a respectable amount of time, we decided it was time to brave the elements once more, and head back to the scorching heat of the trail.

To Marley's credit, he tried to give it a go.  He made an effort to get back to the car.  It was just SOOO hot.  He languished in any small patch of shade he could find.  We continued to cool him off internally and externally.  I knew he had finally had it when he sat on his haunches and held his front paws off the heated sand while his haunches rested in the tiniest patch of shade.  We decided we would have to carry our poor litte Boston Baked Bean.  My son picked him up and carried him to the creek.  He rinsed off most of the red sand and then Bridger placed Marley across my shoulders much like ancient shepherds carried their lambs long ago.  (My knowledge of ancient shepherds comes from stained glass windows at the church of my childhood.)

Then we took turns carrying that little 15 pound pup.  Honestly, the evaporating water from his body cooled our necks.  I had visions of Aesop's Fable about the Miller, His Son, and the Donkey.  I'm sure some of the passing hikers thought we'd lost it and some found us to be compassionate.  I really couldn't worry about what anyone else thought at that time.  We couldn't stand to see him suffer any more. 

Marley had no lasting effects and this morning, he is sleeping soundly in his recliner he graciously shares with me.  Would we hike Calf Creek again?  You bet!  But unless it's the dead of winter, I think we'll let Marley off the hook for any future forays into the desert.

What's in a Name?

When I turned the age corner into my fifties, and decided to start a blog, I thought that Nifty Fifties had a catchy ring to it and decided to take on that name for said blog.  Try Googling Nifty Fifties.  Yeah, apparently there are many of us who think that's a cool way to go with a blog title.  There are many variations on the theme, but since I'm not really pushing THE FIFTIES decade, or supplements for the silver-haired crowd, or even anything with an AARP theme, I decided to re-think my choice.

I love to write.  I have always been a writer.  I write lists, notes, letters, emails, journals, poetry, haiku (I was a fifth grade teacher; perhaps I should clarify SOME of my writing wasn't stellar!).  I hike and bike and take amateur pictures with a decent camera.  I just retired from a 30 year teaching career. My hobby is adapting favorite recipes to make them healthier.  My life is full of a bit of this and a bit of that. 

This time I decided to get some advice from some "old souls" in my circle of friends; those younger than I whose opinion I respect.  We tossed around ideas...The Recipe Whisperer.  The Happy Hiker.  After the Last Roll Call.  Granola Girl.  Hikes and Bikes.  The Happiness Habit.  Random Thoughts and Moments.  Random Rants, Writings and Recipes. 

The problem is that I know me; it will not serve me well to get too focused.  I'm not a general dispenser of knowledge.  Teaching is what I DID.  I cook and bake, but not regularly.  I'm not going to tell people where I hike because I like the path less-traveled. (RUDE, I know.)  I try to be Pollyanna-like, but I have MY days, too.  The central theme that kept popping up was based on the word RANDOM.  And I tend to go through life at turbo speed, although I'm trying so hard to change that, and speed made me think of velocity, and the next thing you know, I've morphed my own word that kind of rhymes with Travelocity, if you accent the third syllable:  RANDOMOCITY!!!

Sigh.  I am happy.  I feel content.  Today I renamed my blog Randomocity.  And there you have it.  That name suits me better for who I am and what I do.  Whether I am proud of that or not remains to be seen.

Healthy(er) and Fast(er) Amish Bread

My Healthy(er) and Fast(er) Amish Bread... nearly instant gratification compared to that old ten day process. You can be eating this bread in a little more than an hour after the craving hits you!

Grey Saturday mornings are a great time to try a new recipe.  I love Amish bread, but am just not patient enough to wait TEN days to "moosh the bag." After seeing that others have attempted to shorten the process, too, I played with the recipe, and now what we have is a true QUICK bread, that has more protein, more fiber, and that spicy-sweet flavor we're looking for!

When my daughter heard about this quicker Amish bread, she teased me by saying, "YOU altered a recipe?  I'm SHOCKED."  You see, it's what I DO...

Here we go...



INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. Greek nonfat yogurt
2 eggs
2 c. lowfat milk w/ 2 T. vinegar (or 2 c. buttermilk)
Mix these wet ingredients together, then stir in:
1 c. sugar (* see note)
1 c. Stevia
Finally, add dry ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. white flour
2 t. baking soda
1 T. cinnamon
1 large package of vanilla pudding (OPTIONAL.  *If adding pudding, eliminate sugar, but not Stevia)
Cinnamon sugar mixture:
1/2 c. raw sugar or regular...raw ups the texture factor!
2 t. cinnamon

Spray non-stick spray on pans. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on bottom and sides of pan. Put half of batter in pans, sprinkle w/ cinnamon sugar, then add the other half of batter. Stir a knife through the pans to swirl the cinnamon throughout. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.

(Note: I made 12 muffins and 3 small loaves with mine.)

Bake at 350...check muffins in about 20 minutes...loaves in about 30 minutes. A toothpick should come out cleanly when the bread is ready.

Trust the Process

Tonight, I didn't work out. I decided to prepare mentally for the rest of the week.  The first thing I did was make my Fitness Journal.  I listened to Biggest Loser on tv.  I steamed cauliflower so I can make mock mashed potatoes with it.  My next step is to plan my eating for tomorrow...so I can "mindlessly" be more mindful when I eat.  I don't want to have to think about what to have; I want to have it planned.  I'm going to journal in advance my food choices and then record after eating my emotions and feelings.  I am also taking my husband's advice and keeping things simple in the menu department.  There are basic foods I enjoy that I know will make me more successful.

If my journal title "Shrink" seems disturbing, allow me to explain.  When my oldest child was in high school, he had a nickname for me that was basically some sound that evolved into the nickname Shrink.  It just so happens that over a period of nearly 3 years, I evolved, too...from a 224 pound mom down to a 147 pound mom.  So, Shrink fit. 

I find it a little intimidating to find myself in this condition again.  I don't weigh 224, but I am not at a healthy weight.  I have high blood pressure, and am struggling with some muscle aches and pains.  Here we go. Here's to new beginnings, trusting the process, and being mindful and present in my life.

Snickerdoodle Muffins (healthified by me!)

Snickerdoodle Muffins just sounded too good to be true.  The original recipe had 285 calories per muffin, 3 g. protein, 1/2 g. fiber, 33 g. carb, 19 g. sugar and 10 g. fat.  Sure, they'd be yummy, but could my body afford to eat them?

Enter the HEALTHIFIER.  Here's MY recipe with nutritional info to follow:

HEALTHY Snickerdoodle Muffins
Cream together:
1 Best Life Baking Stick (Bob Green's Best Life brand of healthier margarine)
1 1/2 c. Stevia
Add:
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
Then add 1 3/4 c. Chobani plain nonfat yogurt to wet mixture.
In separate bowl, stir together and then add to wet mixture:
3/4 t. each of baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar and cinnamon
1 c. flour (I use "best for bread" type)
1 1/3 c. oat flour (oats processed in blender) Make cinnamon sugar mixture w/ 1/4 c. sugar and 1 T. cinnamon. Sprinkle greased muffin tins with cinnamon sugar, add a scoop of batter and sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar.  I made mine in 12 muffin cups and one small loaf pan to equal 16 servings.
Bake 20-25 minutes at 350.

Nutritional info: 156 calories, 6 g. protein, 2 g. fiber, 20 g. carbs, 7 g. sugar, 5 g. fat.