Through the Air

I pick up the phone

And dial your number

Waiting for your gruff hello

With sounds of baseball or

Wheel of Fortune

drifting through the air

I tell you news. It's Sunday.

My day

to tell you what my cat just did

Or what a silly class I have.

Or that I am thinking of moving to Bangkok and what do you think of that?

Or that I just bought my very own car. Or that soon I will be a mom. a foster mom.

And that I'm going to Ireland soon. And....

He tells me stories. Stories about

what he did at the community center

and how he won 2 chickens and

a turkey at pinochle. And that he had

to go to the doctor for this or that.

And he's chopping. Onions.

But I hear a dial tone.

No gruff hello.

Or Phillies games.

Just the sound of my breathing

Drifting through the air.

Help! I'm snowed in with my child!!

Ok, so this has NOTHING to do with cooking but I thought I'd share some ideas I have for parents who are going stir crazy with their children during Snowpocolypse 2012. After you have done the usual playing in the snow fun and you have used up all your ideas, never fear.... I wasn't a camp counselor for 10 years for nothing! Here are some things you could try. Use them, forward them, share them but most of all put a little Baileys in your coffee and have some fun. Memories are made from things like this.

* Build things with cardboard boxes - robots, computers, cars, etc

* Get a scrap board and some nails and screws from your junk drawer. Have your child bang and hammer away. OR, sort things...nails, screws, hooks...whatever you have on hand.

* Make paper snowflakes. You could make them colorful by having them color a design on the paper first.

* "Water" color. Use just water and a brush and "paint" on something that can get wet. A garage floor is perfect, but you can also use paper pinned on a wall or laid on the ground.

* Make a flip book of how to make a Snowman or Snow Angel.

* Teach your child how to sew on a button.

* Hide a collection of some of your child's favorite things around the house. (dinosaurs, dolls, cars, etc) Have them go on a scavenger hunt and collect them.

* Make playdoh. My favorite recipe is here.

Play games. Here are some of my favorites. You don't need anything for these games except for yourselves and your laughter. (well, Chubby Bunny needs marshmallows, but you could also pretend)

Hide & Seek - one person hides and everyone tries to find them. The first person to find them is the next hider.

Sardines - It's like Hide & Seek but reverse. One person hides and the rest of the family has to try to find them. Once you find them you very quietly have to hide with them. They continue to hide until the last person as found the group. The first person to find the hidden person is the one who gets to hide next.

Silent Game - everyone is quiet and you can set a timer for how ever long you think you can be the quietest. Bribes are important for this one. :)

Chubby Bunny - Shove as many marshmallows in your mouth as you can and say "chubby bunny". Be careful. This gets silly and may induce laughter.

Dead Dog - everyone lays down on the floor and you count backwards from 10 out loud. Then you say "dead dog". Everyone lays perfectly still and frozen. You have to try to get them to move or laugh and then they are out. You are not allowed to touch them, just say funny things with your words.

The Ha! Game - everyone lays down in a circle with your head on the next person's stomach. Each person takes a turn saying "Ha!" It ends up being pretty funny.

Zip! Boing! - This is a game where you are out if you laugh or show your teeth. You have to cover your teeth with your lips and go around the circle saying "Zip". if you say "Boing" it reverses the direction. This one is hilarious. My favorite.

Ready....set....get your fun on!

Grilled Veggie & Feta Quesadilla

So it's snowing here and I was hankering for something yummy and grilled so I came up with this. It was delicious topped with with fresh pico de gallo. YUM!

Grilled Veggie & Feta Quesadilla

1/2 Onion

1 Pepper any color

2 TBL Feta Cheese

2 Whole Wheat High Fiber tortillas

Dice the onion and pepper and saute until soft. Set aside. Grill tortilla. Add 1 TBL feta cheese to tortilla. Put the veggies on top and add the other TBL of feta cheese. put the other tortilla on top and flatten with a spatula. Cut into eighths and sprinkle rest of grilled veggies and pico de gallo on top. YUM!!

WW Dump Soup

Dump Soup

I love this soup. It's easy, yummy and cheap if you can find the beans on sale. I've also used dried beans which work well as long as you soak them long enough. You can make it an Italian soup and use Italian seasonings like Oregano, Basil, and garlic or you can make it a Mexican soup by adding taco seasoning, cayenne, and cumin. Either way it's fantastic!

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can stewed tomatos (either italian w/ basil or mexican with chilis depending on the flavor of soup you prefer)

1 can of mixed veggies or corn

1 can of FF chicken stock

1 onion

2-3 cloves garlic

saute onions in saucepan. Add garlic. Dump all the cans in, mix well. Add seasonings to taste. usually I put in 1 TBL of each basil, oregano and italian seasoning if I'm making it an Italian soup. Or 1 packet of taco seasoning, 1 TBL cumin and cayenne to taste. YUM! You can also add more veggies if you have them on hand.

1 Cup is 4 WW points.

No Excuses

So I love the Biggest Loser. I watch it religiously and this season the theme is No Excuses. I am taking that to heart and starting over. I just watched my 50 pound video again and I want to get back to that happy, healthy, excited-about-life place. I just have all these excuses in my head. I'm too tired.... My sneakers don't work.... (duh...they can't if you don't PUT THEM ON!)... I only have cheese in my refrigerator....it's raining....the gym is a whole 10 minutes away... Each and every silly little excuse that comes to me makes me feel a little better about not getting my ass off the couch and moving a little.

But then a part of me, a small tiny little part of me...the part of me that was happy, healthy and excited-about-life says... SO?!?!?!?

So you want to be too tired. Get up. You can rest in heaven.

So your sneakers don't work. LIAR. I know for a fact they work just fine when you are walking out the door for happy hour.

So you only have cheese? yeah. that's a good one.

So it's raining? You are a Washingtonian: born with webbed feet. Use them.

So it's 10 minutes away. That's 10 minutes that you will not be tempted with the cheese in your refrigerator. Get up!

And I know I will. I have to. I need to remind myself of where I am going and that I am taking it a day at a time. No more excuses.

So here's to a 2012 of no excuses and a fresh start. What's YOUR excuse?