Another Sunday ...

I was a bit burned out by work. It happens to everyone, I guess, no matter what you do. In any case, I'm refreshed and loving my job again after some time off for jury duty - that couldn't have come at a better time, I guess.

I know I'm well again when I'm cooking happily in my kitchen. Tonight, it all just came together perfectly, and I was totally relaxed. Sure, homework didn't get done today, but there really just wasn't space for it in the beautiful flow of things. Here's what I made, mainly due to the inspiration of Heather from Beauty that Moves. Check out her blog, it's fabulous.

carrot/cashew spread, from the Kripalu cookbook: (vegan ... and the only way I'll eat carrots! This is delicious.)



tofu, both cubed and sliced, marinated (thank you, heather) in olive oil, garlic, tamari, and maple syrup. i'll bake it tomorrow and have it for sandwiches/salads all week.



this is what i froze last week .. it's a little dumpy looking because it lost the bottom out of the oven (i wasn't leaving the bread to cool long enough before attempting to slip it out of the pan), but i think it will taste just fine, maybe with the carrot spread on top!



swedish ginger cookies, also from the kripalu cookbook! these are *fabulous* ... and they make a ton more than what you see here, even with me eating half the batter before it even went in the oven (well .. relatively speaking ... ; ) )



the spread ..



favorite drink lately ... lemon mineral water, sparkling, with splash of organic lemon juice. YUMMY "soda."




Tomorrow I'll make spaghetti udon with homemade tomato sauce and veggie Italian "sausage", and millet/cauliflower mash. I'll also bake the tofu. And maybe I'll get some homework done ... (?)

We had our annual school fund-raiser today; while there, an idea came to me during the silent auction, during which two "priceless" items were up for bids. Well, I purposely won one of them - resulting in what was to be the "beginnings" of my vacation money being nearly entirely eaten up ... but I was strangely at peace after winning this item and crafting a huge plan for it. for many months, i've felt an uneasiness, a "need" to fly away to a faraway retreat - canada, perhaps, or montana. but the truth is, i can't reasonably afford more than the transportation to those places. this thing i did ... well, it's grounded me. i literally feel grounded. i'm fine with staying here for my three weeks' or so vacation, i can do all the things here that i wanted to do elsewhere: reading books, enjoying nature, maybe staying in a bed and breakfast and taking a few horseback riding lessons. winning this item allows me the chance to do something that's right for me to do, in ways that are at the same time giving to others and to myself. there's my inner compass again .. just when i need it most, whether i realize it or not, it shows me the way. one more note on this, i also won very very cheap tickets to the Louisville ballet, as well as three free performances (two tickets each) of three different shakespeare plays, also performed locally, this spring. I can't wait to experience some different cultural aspects to this town -- I haven't been to an arts performance in ages.

living room at night




i hope you all have a lovely week. I'll be busy with school, tutoring, some extra babysitting, and homework. on friday, my weeklong "spring break" starts - i'll be staying close to home and getting loads of work done toward my montessori training, as well as taking the cats in for checkups and updated vaccinations. i think there's a local beer tasting friday night, other than that things should be relatively quiet.

i'm also trying to get on a reasonable sleep schedule again ... when i was going through burned-out-lady phase, my night owl crept up on me again, resulting in lack of energy to do much of anything after work, before work ... hence no cooking and lack of ambition to do yoga. so I'm going to aim for 8 hours again, it makes a difference and you'd think i'd have stuck to bed early by now, but no ... so it's a matter of intention.

I've been reading the book Meditations from the Mat, which arrived for me recently in the post. It's a gentle guide toward cultivating inner peace that radiates into the everyday, and spreads to those around you. I like it with the morning coffee.



Peace,

Karen

p.s. thank you, christmas gift cards to borders!