The big picnic day of the summer is upon us.  It’s time to pull out my old favorite Gazpacho recipe (cold tomato soup).  It’s refreshing.  It’s delicious.  It’s healthy.  What more could you ask for.  If you’re looking for a new recipe, try this one.  It’s quick and easy.  I don’t have a picture of it since I like to make mine fresh (actually the night before) to let the flavors meld. 

Thanks Barrie for starting this recipe roundup.  Don’t forget to stop by Barrie’s blog for other scrumptious recipes.

 

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 chili pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 avocado, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

3 Tbs. tomato puree

1 cup tomato juice

2 Tbs. wine vinegar

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. salt

pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups cold water

 

Mix all ingredients, putting water in last.  Serve cold with or without ice cubes.

 

Helpful shortcut:  cut veggies into larger pieces and let your food processor chop everything into smaller pieces.  If you’re still worried about fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes can be substituted.

 

Enjoy!

 

Posted: July 2nd, 2008 under healthy eating.
Comments: 2

Floating down the Merced River, I’m overcome with a sense of peace.  The cold, clear river flows quiet and smooth.  Trout swim past.  The depth of the water changes with each stroke of the paddle. Sometimes I see the sandy bottom or smooth river rock in shades of brown, tan and beige.  Sometimes the river is shallow other times it is deep.  The silence and serenity fill me.

 

As I move along, I pass a lone boulder deposited from some long ago flood.  The sudden change in depth causes a ripple in the otherwise glass-like surface.  Branches and fallen trees lay on their sides, a reminder of the forces of nature.  Bird nests abound among the bushes and trees lining the river.  I blue jay swoops overhead.

 

In Yosemite Valley, I am surrounded by mighty granite cliffs, tall pines and cottonwoods shedding their seeds in a summer snow.  White wildflowers open to the glistening sun.  An occasional bridge and the sight of children frolicking near a sandbar remind me that I share this beautiful National Park with millions who come to visit each year.  I smile, happy to be among them.

 

As I exit the river, I leave nothing behind and take precious memories to last a lifetime.

 

What is your favorite National Park memory?

 

Posted: July 1st, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2

 by Kimberly Van Brunt Women are twice as likely to have clinical depression when compared to men. By itself, depression can be a serious and chronic condition that requires medical treatment. But if you’re a woman with heart disease, depression can severely hinder your road to recovery.It’s estimated that 20 to 25 percent of all patients in a cardiac care unit are depressed at any given time - and if you include those with symptoms of mild depression, that number goes up to around 50 percent. “Clinical depression doubles the risk of having heart disease, and it also doubles your risk of having a negative health outcome,” says Kathy Kastan, L.C.S.W., M.A.Ed., author of From the Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease.Researchers don’t know exactly how the two are connected, however, the increased cardiac risk may stem from personality traits, like chronic anger or chronic anxiety, which can lead to clinical depression. For heart patients, an initial period of sadness or depression can be a natural response to illness, a side effect of medications or lack of social support.It may be more difficult to diagnose clinical depression immediately after a cardiac event like a heart attack - but it’s the lasting symptoms that should signal a red flag to both patients and health care providers.A total of five symptoms have to be present for two weeks to make a diagnosis of clinical depression. These symptoms include:

• Depressed mood during most of the day
• Inability to enjoy usual activities
• Sleeping too little or too much
• Appetite changes - eating too little or too much, including changes in weight
• Physical slowing, sluggishness or agitation
• Decreased energy (fatigue)
• Sense of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
• Difficulty with concentration, memory or indecisiveness
• Recurrent thoughts of suicide or death

It’s important for women with heart disease to take symptoms of clinical depression to heart. If you think you are suffering from depression, speak with your healthcare provider about treatment options. Treatment for depression may include stress management techniques, psychotherapy and anti-depressant medications.“Most of us want a quick fix,” says Kastan. “We don’t want to take the time to deal with our clinical depression - but many times, we need that extra set of ears to listen, and that extra set of hands to guide us where we need to go.”References: WomenHeart 2007 Science and Leadership Symposium 

Posted: June 24th, 2008 under heart disease.
Comments: 2

I’m not sure where this list originated from, but it was forwarded to me in email.  These are truly wise words.  I just had to share it.  Enjoy your day.

 

1. A day without sunshine is like night.

 

2. On the other hand, you have different fingers. 

 

3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

 

4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

 

5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.

 

6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest. 

 

7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

 

8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

 

9. Support bacteria. They’re the only culture some people have.

 

10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

 

11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

 

12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments. 

 

13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

 

14. OK, so what’s the speed of dark?

 

15. When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

 

16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

 

17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

 

18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines 

 

19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

 

20. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

 

21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, ‘What the hell happened?’

 

22. Just remember — if the world didn’t suck, we would all fall off.

 

23. Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

 

 

 

 

Posted: June 16th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 5

As an adult, we remember too many things and think too much.  We worry, become anxious and fearful.  We tend to remember the bad stuff and forget the good stuff.  But take a moment to look at life through a child’s eyes.

 

A child wakes up in the morning and wants to run and play.

A child looks up in the sky and imagines faces and cats and hippos in the clouds.

A child picks a bouquet of dandelion flowers and gives them to his mother.

A child sings happy songs.

A child steps in all the rain puddles as she walks down the street.

A child sits quietly and plays in the mud with his mother’s baking dishes.

A child enjoys playing baseball, soccer, and other group sports.

A child eats peanut butter off a spoon.

A child jumps on a bed.

A child learns language so she can talk to others.

A child crawls around on hands and knees.

A child oo’s and aa’s at the beauty of nature.

A child likes to stop and pet a dog or cat, their fur is so soft.

A child builds sand castles on the beach.

A child collects sea shells on vacation.

A child stands on his head to experience the world upside down.

A child smiles at friendly faces.

 

So for today, let’s look at life through a child’s eyes.  Let’s go through our day with a sense of awe and wonder.  Let’s be present to each moment and rejoice in it’s beauty.

 

Posted: June 14th, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 1

I woke up early this morning with a feeling of gratitude.

 

I have so much to be thankful for, as a human being, as a woman, a wife and mother, an American.  I sit here sipping my tea, looking all around me.  As an American, I have my freedom and live in a beautiful country, free to vote, to wear what I want, to choose the food I want to eat, free to do what I want in life.  As a wife and mother, I have a family to love and family that loves me.  My immediate family is small, yet the number of my extended family and friends is large and grows with each passing day.  As a woman, I am grateful to have the ability to bear children.  As a human being, I am thankful for my compassion, kindness and love, for my ability to think and reason and make my own decisions.

 

My gratitude also extends to the material world.  I am grateful for the home that shelters me from the weather, clothes to cover my body, furniture to sit comfortably, food that is nourishing and plentiful.  I read the newspaper and listen to the news hearing reports of so many people living in poverty, without food and shelter.  Countries are at war, destroying what little these people have.  There are so many who are out of work and don’t have the money for basic staples.  I do what I can to help, but the need is so great.

 

I glance outside at the green leaves of the magnolia tree, the lilies, petunias, and ornamental grass.  The sky is overcast in early morning fog, yet I know that to the west is the ocean, to the east are mountains.  Down the road there are rivers and lakes, waterfalls and streams.  The sun will appear later today, the moon will rise later this evening and fill the sky with millions of stars.  I am so grateful for this beautiful planet and this wondrous universe.

 

What are you grateful for?

 

Posted: June 11th, 2008 under Stained Glass, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

If you take the time to stop and look around, you’ll discover that you can learn a lot about life from nature.

 

Gaze at the clouds.  Watch them float by.  Each cloud is different.  Each day, the number of clouds are different.  Clouds are constantly changing, just like everything in life.

 

Smell the early morning jasmine.  It’s scent can be detected several feet away and linger in the air.  The jasmine and other natural scents remind us to take a deep breath.

 

Listen to the birds singing in the trees.  Their songs remind us to stop and listen and enjoy the moment.

 

Notice the morning glory on the vine.  It’s petals close at night and open to the sunlight.  The morning glory reminds us to get a good night’s sleep and to enjoy the day.

 

The river flows slow and smooth.  It reminds us of our journey in life.  Look forward, appreciate the present, don’t worry about the past.

 

Every beautiful tree grows tall, but bends due to the way it was planted or forces put upon it like a constant wind.  The trees mind us that each of us grows up differently - different parents, different education, different circumstances.  Yet each one of us is beautiful in our own way.

 

I know that there are many other ways that nature shows us how to live – what is your favorite comparison?

 

Posted: June 6th, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 1

Thank you for this beautiful day.

 

I woke up early by my standards, 5:15 a.m., and felt a lightness in my heart.  I dressed, made a cup of tea, and headed out to Mt. Soledad for a sunrise meditation. 

 

The sky, mottled with gray skies, did not afford the opportunity to view the sunrise, but my skin drank in the moisture of early morning dew.  My ears were treated to silence, that rare sound we so often do not  hear.  My eyes took in an air show courtesy of a flock of large black crows.  The moisture in the air brought out the pine and sage scents surrounding me.  My fingers flew over my mala beads as I quietly repeated my mantra.  The taste of green tea on my tongue warmed my mouth.

 

This past week has been chaos in my house, but today I begin again, without judgment, without worry.  I pay attention to my heart.  I pay attention to my body.  I pay attention to the beautiful world around me.  Living in the present moment keeps me at peace.  Living in the present moment allows me to be thankful for the preciousness of today.

 

So, how are you living in the present moment today?

 

 

Posted: May 21st, 2008 under Stained Glass, present moment.
Comments: 3

Chaos is swirling around me, sucking me into mental chatter and stress.  My walls will be opened in a few days.  The plastic pipes replaced with copper.  Wallboard dust will swirl throughout the house.  It’s also a good time to go one step further, remodel the guest bathroom.  The last time, and every other time in the past that we remodeled a part of our house, my body was consumed with stress.  But I have an opportunity to not repeat the patterns of the past.  I know how to be calm.  Stay in the present moment.  Even when my mind is filled with bathroom vanities, sinks, tile selection, and tub enclosures, I can be present with what I am doing.  I can make one decision and move on to the next.

 

I start my morning in peace.  Sitting on my patio, I gaze into the manmade stream that runs through our condo complex.  The water is clear.  The palm fronds reflect in the calm water.  A slight breeze passes and ripples the water, giving sound to the leaves on the surrounding bushes and trees.  A delicate petunia bloom sways.  The lavender offers up its scent.  I am present.

 

I hope every enjoyed their Mother’s Day.

 

Posted: May 12th, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 4

A mantram is a word or phrase with spiritual meaning.  I learned mantram in my yoga class.  I repeat Om mam everyday. These are Sanskrit words that translate to God heart. I began sayingthis mantram after my heart attack in 2006.  I say these two words 1,080 times in the morning.  I use mala beads (108 beads strungtogether in a necklace) to keep track of the count.  It starts my day in a quiet reflective mood that keeps mecalm the rest of the day. 

 

I just came across a item in a local health newsletter.  Researchers confirmed what I alreadyknew.  Mantram repetition is helpful for managing stress, emotions other than stress, insomnia and unwantedthoughts.  The article by JillBormann can be accessed online from the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

 

 

Posted: May 3rd, 2008 under Stained Glass, heart disease, meditation, yoga.
Comments: 5