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March Goals

March Goals

Happy March, everyone!

Another Monday morning, another new month, another opportunity to set some goals for the next few weeks. Last month, on the first Monday morning, I posted that I was participating in a Blogging University course that required we post our goals/aspirations for our blog. I did so and promised you I would report back on the first Monday of March with our results, so here I am.

Without a plan, things don’t happen so the goals for this blog for February were set as follows:

1 – Write daily and publish here at least three times weekly (once will be the Friday Frolics Feature).
2 – Read and comment on other blogs at least three times weekly.
3 – Increase the followers of this blog by 50% by February 28th.

Here’s where the accountability part comes in – reporting the results. Please forgive the rather cut-and-dried formatting – my business background is coming through:

1 – The previous month’s results versus goals:

a-I wrote daily and published at least three times weekly as well as initiated a weekly recurring event – Tuesday Treasured Tidbits.
b-I read and commented on other blogs at least three times weekly.
c-Here’s the exciting part: Our followers increased from 15 bloggers to 26 (73%) plus I used ‘publicize’ to expand our viewership to include Facebook and Twitter for a total of 223!

2 – Recovery plan for any shortfall(s) to goal(s).

We are good-to-go this month – way to go Team EMGN!

3 – The new goals for the new month:

a- Continue reading and writing as in February
b- Update a different ‘page’ each Monday
c- Increase followers by 12% to 250

Thank you all so much for your support and input as this project grows. I’m so looking forward to our continuing to grow together in content and depth on this journey.

“Success is not a destination, it’s a journey.” – Zig Ziglar

Personality

Personality

“Personality…is an act of high courage flung in the face of life.”
-Carl Jung

How sad a statement that being one’s self, to have a personality of one’s own could be declared an act of courage.

Well, so be it! Go forth, people – be brave – be yourselves – let’s see those personalities!!!

Friday Frolic #5 – One for the Puppies

Friday Frolic #5 – One for the Puppies

It’s Friday and it’s time for another Friday Frolic!

So far I’ve shared some recipes for the humans in the family and circles of friends but let’s not forget the furry, tail-wagging variety either. I have a little, girl-dog so I’ll focus on dogs but it must be said: I love cats too. My dog, however, does not. Since I live in my dog’s home, I am not allowed to have a cat join us.

Since that is the case, I will share a simple recipe for doggie treats that my little girl loves. It’s easy to do as-is and can be adapted for gluten-free as well as various add-ins as you desire:

BASIC DOGGIE TREATS

Ingredients

2-1/2 Cups flour (plain wheat, whole wheat or oat)
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 egg
1 tsp chicken, beef or vegetable (onion free) broth (you can substitute a bouillon cube instead but definitely eliminate the salt)
1/2- Cup hot water if using bouillon cube

*optional add-ins (approximately ¼ cup…maintain doughy consistency)
Whole oats, liver powder, wheat germ, shredded cheese, bacon bits, peanut butter, pumpkin, coconut oil, chopped green beans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
If using bouillon cube, dissolve it in hot water in large bowl.
Add remaining ingredients.
Knead dough until it forms into a ball (approximately three minutes).
Roll dough out on a floured surface until it’s about ½” thick. (Remember, if you used oat flour to be gluten-free, use oat flour on your surface.)
Cut into slices, squares or rectangles the size you want or use cute cookie cutters. I use tiny cutters found in the clay section of the hobby store, since my little girl needs tiny snacks.
Place the snacks on a cookie sheet (parchment paper makes this a non-stick proposition).
Bake for 30 minutes.
Cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy the weekend with your fine, furry friend(s)…

Tuesday Treasured Tidbits #2

Tuesday Treasured Tidbits #2

I apologize for being a day late with my Tuesday Treasured Tidbit this week. I was under the weather to put it mildly, but I’m bouncing back and didn’t want to let this one slip away.

That moment when, laying on the table,

Vulnerable and scared,

I knew I’d raised two young men

Who know how to care and nurture.

Knowing my younger son was

There watching over me as I

Had watched over him for years.

Knowing my older son was waiting

For my call afterward for the detailed update

So he could help put my fears to rest.

My heart swells.

Friday Frolic #4 – A Spicy Blend

Friday Frolic #4 – A Spicy Blend

Welcome to another Friday Frolic!

Recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of articles, news stories, and blog comments about minimizing salt in our diets. Combining that with my recent health scare, I’ve been working furiously this week to revamp my cooking style, including my myriad of spice blends. In addition to minimizing salt, I’ve been seeking out and eliminating MSG (monosodium glutamate) and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) from my diet as I have discovered they are, indeed, poison to my system. The results? Salt-free, gluten-free, healthier food.

To that end, the first spice blend I revamped is my favorite – my Spicy Blend, which started out as a taco seasoning, then was tweaked here and there until I realized I used it on everything from chicken to vegetables – raw and cooked – so I changed the name to Spicy Blend.

It’s very simple and can be changed up in many different ways to suit your own tastes – if you like more or less cumin or oregano, by all means, make those adjustments. If you’d like some salt, throw some of that in too. I did originally come up with this as a salt substitute, which is why there’s no salt listed. I would suggest if you are going to add salt, add sea salt, as the sodium content is lower so it doesn’t have the same negative results as plain table salt. Additionally, as you’re purchasing your spices to assemble this blend, please check the labels to ensure there are no unnecessary additives such as MSG or HFCS hiding in any of them (you may be surprised – I was).

SPICY BLEND

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1-1/2 Tsp Cumin
1-1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Oregano
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper

Instructions

Stir together all the ingredients.
Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

This recipe yields about three to four tablespoons, which is a good place to start until you figure out what adjustments you want to make. Once you have fine-tuned the recipe to your liking, increase the quantities to accommodate how much you’ll need for a three to six month period to save time in the kitchen.

Enjoy your Spicy Blend weekend…

Dodging a Bullet

Dodging a Bullet

The last two days have been fraught with peril for me, in the medical sense. I feel as though I’m dodging a bullet.

I went to a routine follow up appointment with my family doctor on Monday and happened to mention I had a sore toe. No big deal, right? But, since I was there I might as well have him look at it and save everyone some time and worry.

As it turns out, my usually jovial M.D. becomes dead serious, ushers me to his ‘sit down’ office and calls his Vascular doctor-buddy to set an appointment for the next morning. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

Apparently, a sore, bluish-hued toe that’s cold to the touch is a bad thing in the scheme of things. It’s can be an indicator that either a tiny blood clot or tiny cholesterol clot has broken off in a vessel and traveled down to the toe and clogged a capillary. Here’s the really bad part: if it had been in a location where it could have moved upward toward my brain instead of downward toward my foot, I would have had a stroke instead of a sore toe.

Some may say in this situation, they had dodged a bullet. I, however, feel as though this is a long process to come as I found out through a very thorough vascular exam that I have a lot of work to do.

Diet

Exercise

Medication

Mindset

You name, I need to get on it…so, mustering as much serenity as possible, I am indeed dodging a bullet as we speak today…

Tuesday Treasured Tidbits

Tuesday Treasured Tidbits

Welcome to the first edition of Tuesday Treasured Tidbits! I hope you play along…

Per the guidelines, here’s my tidbit of joy from last week in 150 words or less:

Last Friday, I found upon my doorstep
A box.

A box like none other I’ve ever seen.
Inside the box,
A collection of pure delight:

Chocolate covered strawberries from
My sweetheart!!!
MMMMMMMMM good, indeed!!!

Make Your Peace

Make Your Peace

“Everything has a beginning and an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.”
– Buddha

A truer statement may never have been spoken yet I must admit having my challenges with the concept.

Not being one to back down from a challenge, I continue to strive for that elusive commodity: peace.

Friday Frolic #3 – Quickie Valentine Ideas

Friday Frolic #3 – Quickie Valentine Ideas

OK…everybody’s minds back up on the curb, out of the gutter…I said ‘quickie Valentine ideas’ not ‘Valentine quickie ideas.’ Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business.

Times are tough, money is tight but there are ways to make our sweethearts feel loved and appreciated that don’t take a great deal of money. Here are my top ten ideas for making Valentine’s Day a success (in no particular order). Maybe a couple of them will work for you!

• Homemade gift certificate or coupon booklet for chores or favors around the house, e.g., doing the dishes, a foot massage, bubble bath;
• World’s Best Girlfriend/Boyfriend/Wife/Husband – fill in the blank – certificate with a single red rose;
• Breakfast in bed;
• Picnic in the park complete with a book of favorite poetry read aloud;
• Couples pedicure (you’d be surprised how many people would love for their partner to do something with those feet!);
• Matinee followed by an early dinner (save money on the movie and still have time and energy for romance after dinner);
• Make it Valentine’s Week by leaving notes and small gifts (chocolate kisses or the candy conversation hearts, for example) in unexpected places throughout the week leading
up to the big day(use the leftover Valentine’s from the children’s school packs to leave those silly love notes);
• Actually mail several Valentine cards to each other the week before so they arrive during the week of Valentine’s (extra points if they’re handmade) – there’s just
something special about receiving a card in the mail these days;
• Movie and dinner for two at home instead of out – make it special – mood lighting, the ‘good’ dishes, dress up, the works!
• Look lovingly at one another and say how wonderful it is that you finally found each other.

By the way, if you happen to not have a sweetheart this year, that’s okay. Do something nice for yourself, one of those ‘sweet of heart’ people you know, or a good friend. It’s great practice for when you do have a sweetheart for Valentine’s Day.

Now, that you have a plan in place for the big day – that’s tomorrow, you know, I’d like to hear back from you all about your most memorable Valentine’s Day. What made it so special (or awful)?

Enjoy your Valentine’s Weekend…