Back To Basics - Starting With A Healthy Breakfast

Yesterday I shared my limerick about a patio swing breaking because Sparkie and I have gotten fat. Her for the first time, me for, um, not the first time. Granted, the swing has been out in the Texas elements for 8 years, so it's a bit worse for wear, but it's not entirely to blame for the incident. So this morning I dusted off some of my healthy living books in anticipation of getting back to basics. (Side note: when someone tells you it's harder to lose weight when you're in your 40s, believe them.) To start my journey back to healthy living, I made breakfast. Not any breakfast. A healthy breakfast.

Baked Swiss Chard and Kale Eggs (serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are)

4 slices bacon, cut in to bite sized pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 10 ounce bag of chopped swiss chard, big stems removed
1 container baby kale 

1/2 can diced tomatoes
1 T hot sauce
Splash of red wine (optional)
1/8 t grated nutmeg
1 cup plain yogurt
1 t black pepper
4 eggs
Sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Note: I partially cooked my bacon in the microwave because I got it out of the freezer. I transferred the bacon to the pan with just a little of the drippings.

In a large pan, cook the bacon over medium high heat until crispy. (I like really crispy) Add in the sliced onion and cook until the onion has softened. Add in the chopped swiss chard and the kale, stirring well, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the greens have wilted down. Next, stir in the diced tomatoes, hot sauce, the splash of wine if using, black pepper, nutmeg and yogurt. Mix well, so that the yogurt is blended in. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Spoon mixture in to a baking dish. Make in "indentation" in the vegetables and crack an egg in to each. Sprinkle with the cheese and back for 20-25 minutes.

Come Play In May - It's National Limerick Day!

Woo Hoo. I get to share a limerick.

I have eaten way too much crap
I would love to go take a nap
Out to run I must go
And get on with the show
'Cause the patio swing it went snap

True story. Sparkie, who has also put on a few pounds, and I were gently swinging on our old patio swing last night when The Aussie came up behind us and gave the swing a big push. That's when we heard the seat start to crack. There's nothing like the threat of falling on to the patio, amidst the remains of a wooden swing, to get you standing up quickly. It's a good thing the weigh-in for the Sisterhood's 6 month Commit To Your Fit dietbet opened today.

Come Play In May - Motherhood

Motherhood. The human version never happened for us, so motherhood and Mother's Day don't mean the same for me that they do for many of you. Motherhood for me means picking up the bits of stuffing that was pulled out of dog toys. Motherhood for me means waking up from a dead sleep and sprinting to turn the alarm off and get a dog outside at 6 in the morning when you hear a dog start to barf. Thanks for that, Sparkie. I really needed that this morning. Motherhood for me means stuffing heartworm pills down a dog's throat. Sorry manufacturers, many dogs DON'T think your product tastes good.

Motherhood for me also means bunnies. Two summers ago we rescued some baby bunnies from a flooded burrow. They were so little, they didn't even have their eyes open. Before you scold, we had to rescue them, they were swimming in 6+ inches of water at midnight, and we were having torrential downpours all night. Mama never came back. Sadly, two of the four babies didn't survive, but two did. They were so stinking cute. Stinky, too. I was sad when we released them, but happy that they were going to be fine. I still see the Hoppities in the front yard. One of them lets me get within a few feet of it, seeming to listen to me while I talk to it.

 Wee little ones. They were so tiny.

Rambunctious little hoppity. Hey, Lady, where are the sweet potato vine leaves you promised?

This is one of the last pictures of the little ones. This was their release day, and they were happy to go.

Today I had a treat. Today I saw a grandbaby hoppity in the backyard. A very appropriate day to see the little one, and I couldn't help but smile.

 

Come Play In May - Breathe, or How To Find My Zen

I have to tell you, I'm not in a Zen place this afternoon. I joked with the Axis group that I'd have to breathe after I unclenched my teeth. So, I'm going to take my mind to a more quiet place, far away from the evil corporations that make you buy your pets' prescriptions ONLY FROM THEM.

Deep in the heart of Texas, you can hear birds sing, frogs croak, and deer come up to visit you while you mow the lawn.

However, because BLOGGER doesn't want to process the video correctly in one format, I am having to upload it in WMP. Breathe, breathe, breathe...Oh, hey, it STILL won't process. You get a screen shot of the opening frame. Oh, and now it works.

Well, I can watch it to help me find my zen, but you if you aren't able to, here's a picture of the deer.

Come Play In May - Let Me Be Vague About Something

Have you ever been a member of a group or organization that needed to grow, so some other people were invited to join the group AND THEY TOOK OVER? After the coup, did you feel like quitting because their passive/aggressive BS pissed you off so much, but you thought NO, I WAS HERE FIRST, I WILL NOT LET THEM WIN?

Come Play In May - Art: Create Something Beautiful

While it's a little flippant, my bio for Pinterest reads "Reader. Runner. Gardener. Quilter. Hoarder of Cookbooks. Dog Mom. Geek." While I may dabble in a few other things, and I'm not terribly accomplished at any one of these things, this pretty much sums me up. (My husband would REALLY agree with the whole 'Hoarder of Cookbooks' title, but he hoards his own crap, so he really can't bust my chops on that one.)

So what, you may ask, does this have to do with creating something beautiful? I am a hoarder of really expensive batik fabrics, too. When they get sewn together in a pleasing manner, they become a quilt. I've really got to get back to working on this one. The right strip has been removed, ahem, "un-sewed" because I put the wrong shade of purple batik on there. Would anyone but me notice? Maybe not, but it really irked me. Now that I look at it, the bottom one needs to come off, too.

I need to work on this one because I haven't ever made a quilt for me and my husband. I've contributed a lot of blocks to church quilts, which is how I started quilting in the first place, I've made several quilts for friends, and last Christmas, I gave my sister the quilt below.

Since I have so much pretty stuff to play with, I'd best get a move on.

Warning: Rant Ahead. The food porn edition.

This isn't a "Come Play In May" post, but it certainly could have worked for Monday's prompt.

I'm going to go out on a limb and think that most of y'all have heard the term "food porn." According to Wikipedia, food porn is defined as follows: Food porn is a glamourized (their spelling, not mine) spectacular visual presentation of cooking or eating in advertisements, infomercials, cooking shows or other visual media,[1] foods boasting a high fat and calorie content,[2] exotic dishes that arouse a desire to eat or the glorification of food as a substitute for sex.[3] Food porn often takes the form of food photography and styling that presents food provocatively

No where, in this definition does it actually say that the person posting a picture that could be categorized as "food porn" actually ATE the food. If a friend wants to post a picture of bacon stuffed pancake on a stick, she can post a picture of bacon stuffed pancake on a stick. If you want to post pictures of the cookies you ate, or the salad you ate, go for it. I like looking at pictures of food as much as I like posting them. I wish my pictures looked nice, but that's another story.

I don't care where you and I are in our journeys, we aren't here to judge each other, and we'll get to where we're going when we're supposed to get there.