Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

I made this once before and really liked it (Zach and Lucy not so much). I decided to make it again and tweak the recipe a little bit more to my tastes. 

I love to have this salad made up in the fridge for me to grab and eat any time. It makes me feel super to know that I am eating something full of things that are good for my body!

My newest version of this yummy salad:

Superfood Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette 

Found here. 

Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa
2 oranges, peeled and segmented, chopped

8oz blueberries
2 avocados, chopped
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup pomegranate arils (about 1 pomegranate worth)
1 can of corn, drained
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
salt & pepper

For the Lemon Vinaigrette:
2 lemons, juiced (need 1/4 cup juice)
2 garlic cloves, microplaned or finely minced
dash of sugar
salt & pepper
6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Grilled chicken or shrimp

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside to cool.

2. For the Lemon Vinaigrette: combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake to combine.

3. Combine cooled quinoa with orange segments, avocado, beans, pomegranate arils, corn, cilantro, salt and pepper. Pour Lemon Vinaigrette over the salad and stir to combine. Top with grilled chicken or shrimp. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Yummy!

It would also be really yummy to throw in a can of mandarin oranges, grill the corn, and add the lemon zest from the lemon peels.

What else would you add?

Twelve for 2012

Sometimes we get discouraged about all the things we didn't do- goals we failed to achieve, or just things we didn't make the time for. Instead of lamenting and feeling guilty about what we missed, let's focus on some of the positive, uplifting, and even hard things we've done this year- even if they were unplanned and not a "goal".

Here are Twelve Awesome Accomplishments for 2012.

1. Survived allergy testing and having allergy shots twice a week for months:

This was put on hold when our insurance changed, but eventually I will get back on them for another 2-5 years. Yay.

FYI: I am allergic to every kind of grass they tested me with (bermuda, johnson, rye), short ragweed, false ragweed, careless ragweed/pigweed, mesquite trees, household mite, and TOE (whatever that is?) So, basically I am allergic to west Texas!

The good news is that my allergies aren't going to kill me, they just make me break out in rashes and itch really bad.


2. Made homemade bread. Mmmm:
I borrowed our friends bread machine and made several loaves of whole wheat bread. Yum!


3. Downsized:

I've been feeling particularly crowded in our home lately and have been donating and giving away lots of unused items that we've been "saving". It feels so good to de-clutter and have more empty spaces in my home instead of the constant visual stimulation of piles and stacks of items. I love having emptiness and a space that is calming instead of filled to capacity, which stresses me out.

Also, I want the possessions we do own to be things I truly love and that make me happy each time I look at them.

4. Created a blog and posted fairly regularly:

I've really enjoyed documenting our lives and my thoughts on The Podge Files this past year. I still have lots more I want to write about and share. I look forward to this new year and what it will bring.


5. Was asked to be a regular contributor to Swag on, Momma!, a blog created by my dear friend/cousin:

It's a place for women to congregate and share the joys (and struggles) of life together in an effort to uplift and inspire one another. I am so excited to be a part of this community! I love it already.


6. Taught art lessons:

I really enjoyed being able to share my passion and talents with others as I taught several young ladies weekly art lessons. I am taking a break from teaching right now, but look forward to continuing again in the future. See here, here, and here.


7. Made it through a year of being president of the women's organization of my local church congregation:

Sometimes I felt like I was doing awesome, other times I felt like I was failing, but I made it through a year and hopefully learned, grew, and helped other people during my time of service in this capacity.


8. Bought a "new" car:

After our old Durango broke down repeatedly we finally found a new car for Zach to use and take to work. It is so nice to be able to be a two car family again and be able to run errands and go to appointments during the day.


9. Taught Lucy How To:

Pray, fold her arms, identify colors, sing several songs, dance, give massages, help put away clean dishes, put dirty dishes in the sink/dishwasher, fill her own cup with water, put books in the bookshelf, put her clean clothes away, put her dirty clothes in the appropriate hamper, load and move the laundry along, watercolor, pick out matching outfits, and dress herself.

It's been a good year for Lucy and may I just say that nothing is sweeter than hearing your child say their own prayers or singing songs to you. Melts my heart.


10. Spent my first night away from Lucy:

This wasn't that big of a deal to me, mostly I was just worried about her behaving herself while we were away on our anniversary trip. Luckily, she did!


11. Worked out:

Since buying our Cardio Dual Trainer I have worked out more in the past year than I ever have before in my life. I was pretty consistent for quite a few months, then took a break, and have started back up again recently.

I hate sweating, but I feel so good about myself when I do work out.


12. Learned how to make Pho:

My friend from church had me over for lunch and gave me the recipe for homemade Pho. I made it for a dinner party and had friends over. It was a delicious success, and thinking about it makes me want to make it again. Mmmm.



How about you? What accidental/unplanned accomplishments did you achieve this year?

My mantra for the past few months has been:

"I can do hard things."

What to Say When You Don't Know What to Say

I got a bunch of pamphlets from the funeral home when Zach and I started making arrangements for Peter's funeral. I thought they were all well written and helpful. I thought this one in particular was really good. "What to say when you don't know what to say" is exactly what everyone wants to know at some point in their lives. If you haven't been there yet, you will at some point in time. Even when dealing with something difficult that isn't a death, these guidelines are a great place to start for comforting and helping anyone who is going through a difficult time or trial in their life.

Even before I had read this information I had been thinking about the topic and contemplating what I have learned from this experience. What is the most helpful to someone who is going through a hard time. Here are some of my thoughts on the topic from the loving and generous examples of those around me.



1. Lots of Boxes of LOTION Kleenex

Whether a death in the family, throwing up, or just a sickness with a runny nose, they will always wish they had more lotion Kleenex because if they are crying or having a runny nose for more than one nose wipe, they will be in dire need of lotion Kleenex. Otherwise, after two wipes, their faces and noses will be red, dry, and sore.

You can never have too many boxes of lotion Kleenex.


2. Food

A staple in grief support, food is always welcome, but here are some insights I've gained.

- Space it out.
Most meals are more than enough for one meal, and some can even last up to four days. Instead of bringing meals every day, space them out to every-other day so that their fridge doesn't get filled up with too many leftovers. Not everyone is blessed with a deep-freeze freezer in the garage.

- Bring it two weeks later.
When someone has a new baby, or a surgery, etc. people are usually ready and eager to help out at the beginning. That is helpful. It is also a pleasant surprise and much appreciated respite to have someone bring you a meal a few weeks later, when things have died down but you still haven't fully recovered.

- Gift Cards/basket
If you live far away from the person you wish to comfort, gift cards to local restaurants or a gift basket can show you care and are thinking of them. And who doesn't love getting real mail?


3. Massage

A gift certificate for a massage from a professional masseuse. So needed. A great way to feel like you are actually helping relieve some of the tension from grief and stress. Who doesn't need one?

Probably something they need- but wouldn't ever buy for themselves.


4. Suggestions

When offering to help saying "just let me know if I can ever do anything to help" isn't the most effective. Part of the problem is that the person who needs help isn't always sure what you are able, or comfortable, doing. What they might really need is someone to clean their bathroom, but what you had in mind was more like giving them a ride. Or maybe they need someone to watch their children, but you work during the day when they need the help.

When offering to help, give lots of suggestion of what you are comfortable helping with, that way they know that they can come to you in that circumstance. For most people it is uncomfortable asking others for favors, so it definitely helps to know what the other person will agree to before you ask. Specifics help.

Some examples:
"I would love to help by: ..."
- Coming over and spending the evening with you while your husband is working (or day)
- Taking your child for the day so you can make funeral arrangements (or whatever)
- Giving you a ride to church, the hospital, etc (or your teenager, or kids)
- Having you over for dinner on Wednesday night (be specific)
- Making burial clothes

Nobody wants to ask you to clean their bathroom, but that might be what they really need. Offer anything you are willing, able, and comfortable doing.


5. Offer Again

Another problem with offering help is that the person usually isn't looking for help at the exact instant you offer it. Whether they are just starting to deal with the grief or a tragedy and can't think about it right now, or they just don't need anything right now, or they are a new mother and don't know what they will need because they have never done it before. Offer again.

Make sure they know your offer is sincere by offering multiple times. Sometimes someone would offer to help me with something and I would say that I didn't need it then, only to need it later but didn't want to ask. It's a blessing when the person feels the promptings from the spirit and acts on it, and makes the offer again. It is a lot easier to accept an offer than ask for it.

Something that would be really helpful would be your phone number on a card with a list of things you are ready to do to help. Put it on a sticky note, the back of your business card, or anything handy. That way they will be able to remember who offered what, and how to get a hold of them when they need help.

One thing I noticed since Peter is that my sense of time and my mental faculties were seriously messed up from lack of sleep, stress, and dealing with the situation. Writing things down is very helpful later when trying to remember things.


6. The Written Word

Some of the most touching things we received were handwritten notes, cards, and letters from family and friends. Reading the heartfelt words of those we love mean so much, and it is so nice having them written down so we can re-read them whenever we want to remember and think about Peter.

Share your own grief and happy memories of the person.


7. Pictures

You can't have enough pictures of the one you love, who is now gone. If you have some, make a copy for the family or friends who are grieving.

Peter's burial shoes, made by a dear friend as a favor.

Baby Peter: Days 37-44

by Tracy on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 12:16am

November 15, 2011

Happy six week birthday, Peter!

Things are going well. The hospice worker came yesterday and said that Peter is staying the same, his color was good, and said she would wait until Thursday to come again, since he is doing okay. So, that is good news to me. Maybe I am in denial, but something inside me thinks that he will make it to thanksgiving, and even to Christmas, but who knows. It could also just be wishful thinking. :) 

The one thing that the hospice worker noticed was that Peter was having small focal seizures with his eyes, where his eyes look back and forth rapidly for a few seconds. This is just another indicator that his brain isn’t developed like it should be, and we will keep watching to see if he has any other seizures. Some babies develop more severe seizures, and some don’t, so we hope he won’t.

On Saturday we decided to have a family outing and went to Family Day at the art museum. We all got ready, got Peter hooked up to his portable oxygen tank, and were about the pull out of the garage when I noticed that his feeding tube has accidentally gotten pulled out while we were getting him all buckled up in his car seat. So we had to unload the car and call the hospice worker to come and put a new tube down his throat. Eventually we were ready to go again and made it out the door and off to the museum.

 They country they were spotlighting  for the family day was Fiji, and Lucy had a good time making a clay shark tooth necklace, coloring,  eating her peanut butter-jelly-banana roll, and running around while waiting for the Fiji slide show to start while Peter enjoyed his nap in his stroller. It was nice to all be together as a family and make some memories.

When we were told that Peter wouldn’t make it to Thanksgiving Zach and I discussed what things we would like to do with him as a family before he was gone. What would you do with your infant if you knew they only had three weeks left to live? What would you want to share with them? What would you want them to experience? It’s important to me that we make the effort to create family memories and share with Peter those things that are important to us.

It could be easy to just let the days pass by and let him sleep in his little bed all night and day without even interacting with him. He doesn’t ask for much, and would probably be content to just be. I make it a point to take him out of his bed, and hold him every day. To stop and make the time to have him lie on my chest and just drink him in. Memorize his smell and kiss his head. Rub my cheeks across his peach-fuzz hair as he falls asleep under my chin.  Stop and give him a kiss on the cheek whenever I pass by his crib, and tell him how much I love him.

In a situation like this in order to function you forget that your baby is dying, so that you can go forward with the day and do what needs to be done. You just put it out of your mind so that you can smile and enjoy the time you have with him, and not just cry and lament his fate. But when you do this (forget reality) it is easy to forget to stop and cherish each moment that we do have. You have to remind yourself that he won’t be here for very long, and that when you have a choice between anything and holding your baby, you should choose spending time with that precious baby, because the housework will be here when he is gone. You can check your email after he falls asleep. You can hold him while you relax and watch a movie. After he is gone you will regret every moment you chose not to spend with him while you had the chance.

And then you realize and are reminded that that is the whole point of life that has been summarized and condensed in this one situation. Good, better, best: choosing the best option. When your one-year old comes over and asks you to read a book to her do you keep reading the article you are reading, or do you stop and give her the love and attention she is asking for?

This experience has made me examine my priorities and reevaluate how I spend my time and what I focus my energy on.  I still make bad choices, but my vision has been made so clear and reality has come into focus. I hope that I can continue to improve and when faced with a good option, a better option, and the best option, that I choose the best. And that I choose the best in all areas of my life. 

Good, better, best.

Our beautiful family.

The Podge

Lucy modeling her new shirt.

Fresh and clean after his bath.

Handsome Boy.

The Thinker. Peter pondering the mysteries of life.

Family Day at the art museum. 

Baby on your chest = Heaven.

First smile?!

Happy Six Week Birthday!

Family scripture and prayer.

Peter listening intently to family scripture and prayer.