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#ThankfulThursday Vacation Time

Here I am once again enjoyed paid time off thanks to the day job. I’m so grateful to have the opportunities to take time away from my bread winner so I can relax and focus on my health and well-being. This particular vacation is being spent at home, embarking on establishing new eating habits to bolster my health and foster more energy. I’m tired of feeling worn out, so I figure this will be an experiment to see if perhaps my indulgences (more than 20% of the time, mind you) detract from my overall well-being. I’m here to live, but I’m here to live with good quality in all aspects of life. The more days I spend loafing around in my pajamas, the more days I feel I’ve wasted. So, I’m grateful for the opportunity to challenge myself and make a change for the better.

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#TipTuesday Commas 102

Last week we discussed commas in their basic usage — to join clauses. This week we’ll talk about using them in lists. Now, there are two kinds of people in this world: those who love the Oxford (serial) comma, and those who don’t. I’m in the former camp. I find that the Oxford comma brings much more clarity to a sentence, even if we’re expected to assume the last item in the list is indeed part of the list — comma or no comma. For example:

“I like reading, writing, dancing, and drawing.”

Each item in the list is separated by a comma. Each comma can be assumed to mean “and.” However, we don’t write sentences that read like this:

“I like reading and writing and dancing and drawing.”

That’s just not proper. You could also write it this way:

“I like reading, writing, dancing and drawing.”

Sometimes, however, you’ll find that omitting the last comma leads to confusion. For example:

“I have three kinds of pizza including pepperoni, sausage and pepper and mushroom.”

What have I done here? I’ve left you wondering what the second and third pizzas are. Do we have sausage and pepper? Or do we have just plain old sausage? Do we have pepper and mushroom? Or just mushrooms? This is why I opt to always use the last comma. If you get into a habit of omitting that final comma, you may find yourself confusing your reader — not good if you’re submitting a paper for a grade or a business proposal. We’re not taking out an ad in the paper, nor are we confined by the editor’s need to save space for all the articles. In the digital age, we have more than enough room on the screen for that last comma. On a paper, your teacher or professor is counting words, not characters. If you’ve never been really sure about commas in lists, start practicing writing lists today. Take the Oxford comma out for a try. You may just find out what a lovely little partner it can be in all your sentences.

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#MotivationMonday Lenten Vows

This week I’m incredibly motivated to commit to my Lenten vow to follow a more cleaning eating sort of lifestyle. Think the Whole 30 and paleo movements, only will a little less… trendiness. It’s really more along the lines of eating the way people did a hundred or years ago when we didn’t have Snickers, Lay’s potato chips, and microwaveable meals at our beck and call. It’s also more along the lines of eating foods that aren’t going to cause some serious health problems. Also? Think of it as the human body doesn’t need chocolate cake and latte to survive on a daily basis, and I’ve got the willpower to abstain from such things for over 40 days and nights. And since I’m hardcore, I’m doing this 45 days and nights — I only subtract my daughter’s birthday from this equation here!

Here’s what the menu’s going to look like: chicken , turkey, fish (blech!), eggs, green veggies, fresh veggies, frozen veggies, fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, water, broth (veggie, chicken, turkey), herbal teas, hot lemon water, sweet potatoes, white potatoes (which come from the ground, so there!), maybe some beef or pork here and there, possibly some rice. Ultimately, I’ve got a lot to work with. Here’s the tricky part — what it’s NOT going to look like: no chocolate, no coffee, no tea, no alcohol, no refined/ added sugar, no flours of any sort (not even gluten free), no processed foods, no dairy, and basically no fun. I’m unsure of my precious almond milk at this point — it may or may not get “technicality” status. I may or may not play around with different foods that have a reputation for causing inflammation or intolerances.

Over the course of Lent, I’m going to access how I feel. My goal is to replenish my body and increase my energy. The focus is mainly on what’s going in my mouth, but I do plan to incorporate more movement in my daily routines. I may find that I’m more motivated and energetic while eating healthier foods. And of course, we can’t leave out that this is a Catholic ritual, so therefore I’m also setting a goal to do penance here. Watch out, Wednesday! I’m ready for you!

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#FoodieFriday Valentine Cookies

I thought it would be lots of fun to make chocolate-dipped heart-shaped shortbread cookies for my family to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I searched the web for a recipe I liked, adapted it a bit to my tastes, and got to work.

From Taste of Home:

  • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • dash of sea salt
  • 1 cup cold unsalted sweet cream butter, cubed
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add in cubed butter. It works better if you use your (clean, washed) hands to knead the butter into the dry ingredients, but feel free to use a fork. Once the ingredients are mostly combine, add the water and extract. Mix until a dough forms. Place a piece of parchment paper on your counter and flour liberally. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using heart-shaped cookie cutters, cut out cookies. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 325. Bake for about 13-16 minutes, switching baking sheets halfway through for even baking. Cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before coating in chocolate. Use your favorite chocolate chips to melt for dipping and coating your cookies — we used milk chocolate chips. Add sprinkles if desired. Place on parchment to set. Enjoy with your favorite cookie beverage!

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#ThankfulThursday On Love & Life

Saturday is the day we celebrate love — and I don’t care who wants to call it a Hallmark holiday or turn it into something that “should be everyday.” (Because big boxes of chocolate should NOT be an everyday thing for ANYONE, especially if we’re running out of chocolate!) I’m thankful to be celebrating with my family, even though we sort of did our own thing this past Saturday. I work this coming Saturday, so it made more sense to eat chocolate dipped heart-shaped shortbread cookies and chocolate covered strawberries on a day we were all off together. The two younger children prepared there valentine’s for their classmates. My oldest has graduated to the land of school dances and awkward transitions from child to adolescent.

I’m also grateful for the freedom and room to embark on a very important journey for my Lenten vow this coming Wednesday. I will be removing many potential offenders from my diet and giving my body only foods that feel nourishing. I don’t feel healthy or energized these days, and it’s time for me to honor my body. I’m finding that age makes it harder to bounce back, and I’ll need all the nurturing I can get. Feeding myself with love and care seems like an excellent way to replenish my tired body. I’m so grateful to have this body to carry me around, and I want to continue being grateful to have my body.

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#TipTuesday Commas 101

Ah, the lovely comma. Commas can be used in a variety of settings, but today we’re going to talk about conjoining two thoughts. We have sentences made of clauses. Clauses can be independent, forming a complete sentence, or dependent, needing more information to stand on its own. When we have two independent clauses, we can join them using a comma and a conjunction — forming a compound sentence. For example:

“We went out for pizza, and we had a great time.”

Both clauses could stand alone as separate sentences, but we’re trying to get across the point that the great time was had while going out for pizza. Here’s another:

“After work, we went out for pizza.”

The clause “after work” is an example of a dependent clause (among other things, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet). We’re telling the reader when we went out for pizza, but we’re not expressing a complete statement about it.

Then we have compound predicates — sentences with one subject and more than one verb. Many writers make the mistake of using a comma before every conjunction, but this is grammatically unsound. For example:

“We went out for pizza, and had a great time.”

See what I did there? I deleted the second subject, so now the second clause isn’t a complete sentence. Both “went” and “had” are attached to the first “we.” Corrected, the sentence should look like this:

“We went out for pizza and had a great time.”

Feel free to practice on your own. Create sentences, and play around with the structure. You’ll have your commas down in no time!

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#MotivationMonday Nurture Check-Up

It’s been about a month since I reviewed how my word nurture has been shaping my 2015. Let’s review…

How has it been supporting you? What could you do to bring more of your word into your life? Do you need extra supporting words? What does your heart need?

The word nurture has been supporting me as I consider what would nurture me before making decisions. So far I’ve had a few more slip-ups than I’d prefer, but I also realize that beginnings are always a little difficult. Babies learning how to move don’t start running right from the start — they have to sit up, roll over, scoot, crawl, stand, and take baby steps before they get that far. Instead of treating this as a failure, I’m treating it is a natural process. It will take practice to get all the right choices to come naturally.

I have found nourish to be a supporting word, as the two mean almost the same thing. Rest and relax help me remember that sometimes I just need to take the time to stop what I’m doing, listen to my body, and remember that I’ve been emptying my reserves for two years. I need to replenish myself. My heart needs me to take care of myself and my loved ones. It needs me to love and feel loved. It needs happiness and peace. It needs me to feel motivated.

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#TipTuesday Introduction

Welcome to Tip Tuesday! As a writer and English tutor, I’d like to share some tips to help you with your own writing. When I’m not participating in or hosting a prompt series, I’ll be sharing a tip each Tuesday. Here’s today’s tip: always reread your work. The quickest way to correct your work is by reviewing it. I have found errors in papers and articles over the years that could have been caught by the writer even before submitting it for review.

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#MotivationMonday

With Cultivate 2015 behind me, I’ve got a blank canvas ahead of me. For the last two years I’ve been depleting my energy and motivation, and it’s time to get those precious things back. I’m ready to embark on a 91-day declutter challenge (let’s see how that works with my moving schedule), and I’m about two weeks away from starting a Lenten fast. In 2013, I didn’t do anything because I was already being tested and stretched. Last year, I made an attempt to reset my digestive tract, but I crumbled on day 1 due to the stress of my life at the time. This year I’m mentally prepared to quit processed foods for at least the duration, eat plants like it’s my job, and try to rebuild my strength and energy the old fashioned way — eating healthy. Caffeine has been a crutch for far too long, and I’m feeling the negative side effects after completely abusing coffee. So, I’m looking forward to treating my body with a lot more respect and hoping it will reward me in kind.

Stop by tomorrow to see what else I’ve been motivated to begin…

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