Six Impossible Things before Breakfast

There is a nursery rhyme that you may not know. It isn't as popular as, say, "Hey, Diddle Diddle" or "Hickory Dickery Dock." In fact, there are no nonsensical word in it at all, which is the mark of a poor nursery rhyme, if you ask me. It goes a little like this (maybe not exactly like this, I'm relying on memory, not the infallible Google):

There was a little girl

Who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good,

She was very, very good,

And when she was bad she was horrid.

As with all nursery rhymes, I'm not sure what the intended effect of this rhyme was supposed to be, but my 5-year-old self adopted it as a mantra. It seemed a perfectly sensible way to go about my business. I even tried--at least on one occasion--to fashion my hair after my imaginary life coach. I think this was after behaving horridly...why not go all in, right? My hair could mark me as someone not to be trifled with. 

All this backstory is to say that my weekday mornings seem to follow that little girl's pattern. I have plenty of mornings that are just "meh," but the high are very, very high and the lows are horrid. 

There is another story about a fictional girl that might provide a better model for my mornings. In Through the Looking Glass, the White Queen advises Alice to try to believe "six impossible things before breakfast." 

Here is my list so far:

1. I can make the day longer. I've been getting up at least a minute earlier every day for awhile now. I've added 37 minutes to my day so far. 

2. I can read and write during my commute. I've been composing bad commuter poetry to post to my Tumblr using the voice recorder function on my phone. Also I'm working my way through my library's collection of Agatha Christie audiobooks.

3. I can be stronger than I was yesterday.  I have some back and core exercises that my AR therapist gave me to help with a "bulging disc" in my lower back. I have a hard time remembering to do these, especially once the pain subsides. With all those extra minutes, I can squeeze my strengthening exercises in during the morning. 

4. I can run a marathon. Woof, I have a long way to go to get there. The aforementioned derailed my training program, but get there I will. My new training will start the morning of the 24th. 

5. I can survive without coffee. Double woof. Actually, I usually switch to tea (black, green, and eventually herbal) in the winter. I'm starting the switch tomorrow instead of November or December because I ran out of coffee grounds and don't want to buy more. 

I haven't decided what my sixth impossible thing to believe will be. Should it be something to inspire concrete action? Should it be something that will motivate me? Should it be something to generate positive self-talk? ShouldI start wearing my hair like the White Queen?

What about you? What impossible thing do you believe to have a very, very good morning?

Currently...

Thinking: Between a recent piece I heard on NPR about rebranding Hamburger Helper and my boss's (A) insistence that board members must give a set minimum amount of money to our 501c3, (B) inability to understand that $20 is a lot of money to some people, myself included, I've been thinking a lot about class-based prejudice. I think we're all victims and perpetrators. How do we overcome it? Should we overcome it?

Feeling: Late last week I was hit with a feeling of community. I picked up one of my board members to take her to the funeral of another board member and realized how "right" it felt. My parents do this type of thing all the time. It's the work of being a human, of being a member of a tribe. I always "got" why they do it, but now I feel like I "get" it on a whole different level. I have a better sense of how to do my human work and where my tribe is. 

Watching: House of Cards by myself. I'm a sucker for a good political drama. The Harry Potter movies and Blu-ray extras with Tim. The wizarding world is my ultimate escape from real life. 

Reading: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. This is turning into one of my favorite Gaiman books that I've read. If you've ever scouted a place to live if you were homeless, I have a feeling you'd like this book. 

Excited: A ladybug just landed on my leg. That's a good omen, right?

Missing: Grandparents. I always miss them and in a sense, I've missed them my whole life. I've never known a full set of grandparents although I've had lots of great surrogates. 

Wondering: If my step-daughter ever got registered for school this year. Last year her mom didn't do the paperwork in time. I feel like it is her job because she is the one who insists Lily go to Catholic school. 

Working: I have a love/hate relationship with my work. I love helping our partners reach their goals. I hate the way my boss treats me. It's very bipolar. 

Stressed: Over work and finances. August and September are going to kill me at work. It's just that busy. We have a big hole in our savings to fill after getting Tim's transmission rebuilt. 

Proud: Of just about every creative thing my step-daughter does. 

Wanting: to extend this cool, peaceful morning for hours. Solo, drinking coffee, reading blogs, writing, sitting on my patio steps. 

Wishing: for winning Powerball numbers. 

Eating: trying to keep up with my CSA box. 

Drinking: Orange Crush. Tim and I got Crush when we left the City Museum and I rediscovered what heaven tasted like to my 8-year-old self. Did you know they have peach and pineapple flavors?

Loving: Feedly. Whoa, dude?! I never set up a Google Reader so I'm not sure what I was missing, but Feedly sure beats the heck out of faffing around with bookmarking things. 

Kitchen Decrees: Cabbage

Whereas prior to today cabbage has elicited a firm "meh" in our household, and
Whereas Timothy's delicate system can process neither cabbage nor onion, and
Whereas today I made a cabbage dish that I am unashamed to say I ate in one sitting,
I hereby decree that all cabbage that enters my kitchen shall be eaten thusly:

Deconstructed Fried Colcannon
Thinly slice 1/2 onion and saute in oil. Set aside.
Shred 1/4 cabbage and saute in  oil. Add onion and a bit of cooked roast, ham, bacon and heat through. Season with salt and pepper.
Thinly slice a potato and fry in oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve cabbage on top of potato.

Eat all the comfort food goodness.

Community Supported Agriculture: Week 1

Once again, my friend, Aspiring Maven, and I are splitting a CSA membership from our friendly, neighborhood Hen House. This is the third year for us to participate in Hen House's CSA program. (Previously mentioned here and here.) Both she and I have small households so to prevent food waste, she picks up one week and I pick up the next.

In years past, however, this every-other-week schedule hasn't been enough to prevent food waste on my end. I guess I'm not what you could call "observant." I probably won't notice your new haircut or your gradual weight loss (but "It looks great!" and "Good for you!" and I sincerely mean those things even though you had to mention your haircut or 15 pounds or I didn't notice until 3 weeks after you colored your hair). Likewise, I won't notice the gradual accumulation of lint, hair and dirt on a carpet ("Did this carpet used to be a different color?") or the greens gradually wilting in the refrigerator and the squash quietly mouldering on the countertop. I wish I weren't like this and I'm sure it is annoying to those who have to live with me, but I'm not sure how to change.

But...food waste is money waste. And we hate that. (We = me and my newly-frugal husband.) So this year, I decided I'd try to do a better job of eating out of the box---the CSA box. I'm recording what we get and how we use it. This week I was much more mindful of eating the box quickly because Aspiring Maven is on sabbatical [literally (proof)...she didn't just decide she was going to skip her CSA week and eat only McDonald's and call it a sabbatical to make it sound better--although I would support that, too.] so we're picking up until she gets back. Without further ado...

Last  week’s CSA Haul

2 pounds flour – I put this in the freezer because we have plenty of flour.
2 pound Rump Roast
1 pound White Cheddar Pepper Cheese
1 Pint Blueberries
2 Zucchini
2 Yellow Squash
3 Kohlrabi
1 Head Bok Choy

This week’s CSA – SAT

Kohlrabi : Turnips :: Escort : Hooker

What I ate This is not the whole of what I ate, only how I used the CSA haul.

Saturday
Smoothie (almond milk, blueberries, strawberries, dragonfruit, ice)
Handful of blueberries
Fried zucchini (oil, salt, garlic powder, vegan parmesan)
Sautéed kohlrabi greens (canola oil, garlic powder, salt, cooking sherry, balsamic vinegar)
Roasted kohlrabi 

Sunday
 Smothered eggs in a nest (kohlrabi greens sautéed in oil and seasoned with salt and garlic powder, two eggs, shredded white cheddar pepper cheese). This recipe is a variation on the eggs in a nest recipe in Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. If you haven’t read that book and are at all interested in food, add it to your Amazon Wish List today.

Monday
Smoothie (almond milk, blueberries, strawberries, dragonfruit)
Penne with sautéed zucchini and yellow squash, roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar, feta, sardine

Tuesday
Smoothie (almond milk, blueberries, strawberries, dragonfruit)
Penne with sautéed zucchini and yellow squash, roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar, feta, sardine

Wednesday
Smoothie (almond milk, blueberries, strawberries)
Sliced roast beef sandwich with white cheddar pepper cheese, mayonnaise and horseradish

Thursday
Leftover roasted kohlrabi with scrambled eggs and shredded cheddar jack cheese
Shredded roast beef sandwich with white cheddar pepper cheese and barbecue sauce

Friday
Sauteed bok choy. I ate a whole head of bok choy for dinner. That's all I ate.

Amateur Tip By Thursday, the bok choy was a little wilty. So tore each leaf off the head, stuffed it in our giantest Tupperware-ish container, covered it with water, and put it in the refrigerator. After a day, it was refreshed with very little wasted. Don't leave it in the water too long, though. It will probably get slimy.

What's left I have some leftover penne with squash and one zucchini and one yellow squash left to eat. Also some white cheddar pepper cheese.

Bonus I ate almost four pounds of strawberries in eight days. I don't know why I decided to buy the biggest box of strawberries that Hy Vee sold, but I did.

Preview of next week's box: 1 pound sirloin steak, dozen eggs, pound of sourdough bread, pint tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, head of bok choy, pint blueberries

Book Review Haiku

I decided to change my "Reading" page. It's now "Book Review Haiku." I wrote haikus about all the books I've read this year. Check it out.