I love coffee. I really love a latte but am usually not willing to pay the price. I found a way via some magazine feed on Facebook for how to make a homemade version of a latte without a fancy milk steamer or frother. Above is a picture of one I made a while back. I put a 1/4 -1/3 of a cup of milk in a container, shake it until it is frothy and heat in the microwave. I then pour it onto the richest, strongest brew I can muster in my kitchen. It is my little indulgence every now and then. While fancy for my kitchen with the creamy milk going to the bottom and the foam staying on top, it can't compete with coffee house art. But hey, mine cost about $ .50 However, I think I can add coffee barista to my list of jobs I want in retirement if I can master latte art. I got sucked in to these little video tutorials after clicking a Twitter link from @coaccoffeeaddict. I volunteer to be part of the judge and clean-up crew, drinking my way through the samples. I may give this a go tomorrow morning. At least I get to drink my test samples. Blissfully caffeinated-Sam
I was an education major in college the first go around, elementary education to be specific. When I was going to college, there was both a glut of college students and recent college graduates in elementary education, so I decided to minor in science to set me apart a bit from the others that were minoring in social studies or English. I knew science teachers were in more demand than other disciplines in the middle school grades. The problem was, I really didn't have that much of an aptitude for science. Each class was putting me farther and farther out of my comfort zone form the subjects I had always breezed through in high school. My particular emphasis was earth science, in which several core classes were in geology. One Saturday, we a d a trip to go collect rock and fossil samples. We caravaned to the bluffs of the Mississippi where we had to climb up the steep sides to gather the samples of the ancient fossils of Cretaceous cephalopod. I had not planned that we actually would be climbing the bluffs themselves, and I had a healthy fear of heights, and nearly had a panic attach when I learned the plans. A women that I had developed a friendship with, who was a decade older than most of the students, took me aside and told me frankly, "If I can haul my 30 year old single mom ass out of bed each morning and into class, you can do a little climb to gather a petrified bug." She climbed by my side, and before I knew it, I was actually enjoying myself. Comfort zones. they are tough things to get out of, but me like the bluff wall, and she going back to school, an experience I shared a decade later when I went back to school again, outside is where the adventure is. I've been thinking a lot about the activities other people enjoy regularly that I think I might too. I have either not seriously looked for the opportunity, or I didn't have enough patience to learn and understand the process. We are officially into fall on both the calendar, if not yet the weather in Minnesota. But the slight chill in the morning and the darkening sky's by 6:30 tell me winter is not that far off. I want to pick up a new hobby or two, and get my evenings and weekends shaken up a bit-get out of my comfort zone. I'm not going to take on any death defying stunts, but for me, these will be daring. In no particular order, here are my three comfort busting goals.
1) Learn to knit. Even if all I end up making are potholders or dishrags, I want to learn. I was in a seminar the other day and a colleague pulled out her knitting needles and yarn during the key note speaker. She was fully engaged in listening the the speaker, and her hands were productive. I love the idea of sitting with friends talking and knitting, or curled up in front of the television on a Sunday afternoon with a football game on. I've never really tried to knit. I have no crafting skills, but I am going to face this one. I found a few YouTube tutorials. Now, to stop this weekend to buy some yarn and needles.
2) Cross Country Ski. We have miles of trails around us. I've hiked in the winter and have even used snow shoes, but I've never really done much cross country skiing. I haven't down hill skied either, but I don't have a ski hill in my back yard, but I do have a park and walking paths. I need to find out where I might be able to rent the equipment, but I saw there was a Community Ed class offered last year, so assume someone will offer again this winter. I am sure some of you are wondering why living in the snow capital, why haven't I done this before. the answer is, I don't know; I just haven't. 3) Take a Zumba class. This one is probably the biggest step out of my comfort zone. I was never one for public dancing, and I have struggled with self confidence in exercise classes. this combines both those discomforts, but a friend swears I will love it once I try. We will see. I have a couple classes scheduled in October.
How about you? What has been your biggest comfort zone push? Did you find once you did it, you kept it up?
While I know I would be an utter failure at total minimalism, I am quite impressed with the efforts others have done at downsizing their possessions, homes, and lifestyle in order to gain more freedom of time, flexibility, and peace of mind. I am exploring some of the steps to becoming a minimalist. The Minimalists bloggers Josh and Ryan have a strategy that would take 21 days to redo a lifetime of consumerism. I can buy into some of it, particularly day 1 and creating a Must List. A must list , as the writers say, puts concrete validation to the lists of shoulds humans have in their head. I should walk more. No, I must walk more if I am to keep my knees healthy, and have more energy in my overall day. I should spend less time watching show after show on Netflx. No, I must watch fewer hours of Netflix and any other video or television device, if I am to have enough time in a day to accomplish things that will give me greater satisfaction. So here is my Must List. I have broke down into areas of concentration for more focus.These are all highly doable. Health 1. Must walk pup every morning before going to work 2. Must pack lunch that includes fruit and vegetable daily 3. Must do core and strengthening exercises 4 days per week 4. Must fill and drink my water bottle twice at work (this is an easy one) and drink equivalent amount of water at home (not an easy one) Organization 5. Must tackle part or all of a room a night for decluttering 6. Must stay on top of daily household tasks-dishes, laundry, bathroom Time Management 7. Must limit TV/Netflix/YouTube (unless for research) to not more than 2 hours per day (this is probably still excessive) 8. Must read 3 times per week for fun Money Management 9. Must set up E-Bay and Pay-Pal account (why not try and make some money when I declutter) Social Connectedness 10. Must meet a friend at least one time per week 11. Must schedule planned extended family time on both sides of family monthly Advancing my skills/growth 12. Must blog at least 4 times per week 13. Must continue the Writers Closet monthly short story 14. Must research and work on my book 10 hours minimally per week 15. Must keep building my business brand (new venture) and web platform Ah, ha. I snuck something new in there. I have been working on a new side project-a new venture with a few family, friends and former colleagues, that is so new in start-up, we can't even call it infancy stage. The goal is to launch by my 50th birthday the end of November. The thought of doing this would not have even been possible had I not made the job change 5 months ago. While slow to build, it is exactly the kind of small enterprise that will fit in well with a focus on simplicity, and all the categories above. I'm a little too full of teasers right now, so will say no more until it is ready to go.
In my quest a less complicated life, I am going to try some things that are actually more complex, but hopefully will yield a different satisfaction. I am tackling food waste, and getting more creative in my cooking. The week of Halloween, there were lots of blogs and food shows, newspaper features, and recipes for using that post ghoulish pumpkin into tasty treats and meals. This year, neither of the girls had enough interest or time to carve a jack-o-lantern, but I had inherited my mom's ceramic pumpkin which holds a candle and is pretty cool to great trick or treaters. I still wanted some real pumpkins for their pretty color on my porch, so I bought a couple pie pumpkins at 2 for $3.00 to put on my porch rail. Very cute with the smiling ceramic guy on the floor, and my plastic window cling pumpkins and ghosts on my door.
Since these were pie pumpkins, I knew I should not waste them, and arming myself with tips from dozens of writers, last Sunday I set out to turn them into useable pumpkin for cooking and baking. I used the microwave to soften them. It took a lot longer than I would have though-about twice as long as the equivalent amount of squash. I learned pumpkins must have much denser flesh. After they cooled enough to handle, I scooped out and mushed up in a bowl, trying to break down the sinewy fibers. I think I ended up with about 5+ cups of pumpkin goo. I froze two portions of 2 cups each, for future use, and saved 1+ to try out this week. as I type, I have a dozen large pumpkin muffins in the oven. I added generous amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves allspice, and ginger with the pumpkin. The smell is good, but I'm picking up more of the spices than the pumpkin, so I might have over done it. I rarely measure exactly when I bake-I know, not right, but it works for me.
As far as thrift, canned pumpkin on sale is a much cheaper than my $3.00 pumpkins, without the labor,but considering these would have gone to waste, that is value. The timer went off, so let's see how they look. I had the remnants of two different sized liners left. I could have just used the pan without the liner, but if they are a success, I'll pack a few for the day as we are at a basketball tournament for the day.
DD#2 and I each tried one. The taste was fair-I would increase both the sugar and the spices, as the flavor was too weak for us. I also have to do a better job with the pumpkin-still a little stringiness in the final product. This is why I tried just a small muffin test, so I can learn. Who has hints for me? What do you do that helps you baking an cooking with pumpkin flawless? Would you even bother when you can buy canned for $ .88? Oh, look at the time. I have to get going-10:00 game on center court to cheer on.
