Thai Coconut Soup

I was enjoying the Sunday paper yesterday when I stumbled upon a recipe for Thai Coconut Soup.  The beautiful thing about soup is that you can use a recipe as a guideline and add what you have around the house.  I won't lie and say I haven't made some really awful soups in over twenty years of making dinners, but this one came out really well. 

Don't mind the chip in the bowl.  It is what is left of a set my Mom purchased me some twenty odd years ago.  We all get a few chips and dings once we have been around the block a few times.  

This recipe is originally from Parade and I have modified it to suit us.  I had two bowls and am craving a third.  It might be dinner tonight.

First I heated a tablespoon of coconut oil in my soup pot.  Then I added a diced onion, a tablespoon of minced garlic, 1/4 tsp powdered ginger, and about a tablespoon of lemon grass paste.  The lemon grass gives it that nice zing my husband likes.

I sauteed it for about five minutes while also slicing sweet bell peppers.  My husband tested out our Veggetti for the first time and made a large zucchini into "zoodles."

Next, I added 6 cups of vegetable broth.  We both love the Better than Bouillon brand of vegetable paste, so that is what I make my broth with.  I also added 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of  gluten-free soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of chile-garlic sauce, and a teaspoon of sugar.  I threw in the peppers, brought it to a boil,, covered the pan, and simmered it for five minutes.

After the five minutes were up, I added 2 cans coconut milk, and the zucchini noodles.  Then I let it come back to a boil and simmered it five more minutes.  Then I added one tablespoon of lime juice.

It was time to taste it.  I added some sea salt and proclaimed it good to go.  It was delicious over a bowl of basmati rice.

That was it.  Making it was actually pretty easy and we were lucky enough to have all the ingredients I needed in the house.  Cilantro would have been great for the top, but it was great the way it was.  The recipe  needed to be written down because I need to stop lying to myself and think I will remember how I made something.  Even if it seems to be in my brain, I think my poor brain resets when I sleep at night.  Now my tummy is happy and it is time to do some housework.

Beautiful Clothes Looking for a Good Home

Sometimes I receive a piece of clothing that I think will be snatched up right away.  Then it isn't.  When it is my size, it often ends up in my closet.  However, my closet is getting a bit full, plus I can't afford to keep everything I love.  I would need something bigger than a closet to hold it all too!

Here are two items I can't believe haven't moved.  The first one is this 3X Nicole dress.  This is seriously cute and comfortable with some retro flair.  I paired it with a red cardigan from my own closet, and some tall and curvy leggings.

Isn't this dress fun?. I especially love it with these leggings. Enjoy playing with those patterns!

Another clothing item I fell in love with was a patchwork style Irma.  It is mocking me with its cuteness.  "Add me to your closet.  You know you want me!" it says.  It is great and could match so many things.  It is a size large, and the arms are a bit snug, but it still fit over my bingo wings.  The Cassie I am wearing is also a large. It is not as stretchy as the typical Cassie, but I  pulled it over my XL belly for this outfit.  Isn't this shirt cute?

Also, that model is stunning, huh?  Well she feels stunning when she wears LuLaRoe.  That is for sure.

I am going to add these outfits to Pinterest and see if anybody out there wants to buy these beauties.  I am willing to keep them until they sell, out of pure self interest, I confess.  They want me to own them.  Or maybe they want YOU to own them.

Blustery Day

Today is a beautiful day if you want to fly a kite.  It had better be a kite that is strong enough for gusting winds though.  I love being in my house on a blustery day listening to the wind blow outside while I am cozy.  This working from home gig isn't too bad.  The hardest part is that my office is right here, so I tend to work too many hours instead of. getting home from an outside job and turning off my brain.

Speaking of brains, it was hard to sleep last night. Jerk brain was in the house. I hate when I am trying to sleep and jerk brain (JB) is talking to me.  It tells me all the things I am doing wrong, and all the things I will do wrong.    Parts of the rambling are my true voice telling me to improve.  However, parts of that brain are just plain mean.  It is much easier to analyze all those ramblings in the light of a new day.

Here are some of the things JB says.  This is not a pity party.  No need to call the wahm-bulance.  This is to illustrate what  a jerk my brain can be.   Here are some of the things I hear.  "Your dog just sighed because she is sad you are dying of cancer.  Speaking of the dog, you are a horrible dog owner. You haven't walked her in forever.  She is bored.  You work too much. You are at that computer all day.  Ha, the joke is on you!  You are never going to make up for that pay cut your husband received this year.  In fact, you are going to die and leave him with credit card debt.  It doesn't matter how hard you work. "

Here are some of the things I took from JB.  I do need to get out from behind this desk.  My dog does need to be walked.  I do need to meditate and exercise.  Maybe I am dying from cancer, but that doesn't mean I need to do it any time soon.   While those ramblings are annoying at night, they help me take action during the day.  The dog will be getting her walk today.  I will start avoiding sugar again, since it feeds cancer, and I will spend a lot less time behind this computer.  (Yes, the fact that I am sitting here behind the computer at the moment slapped me in the face with irony).  Above all, I will be kind to myself.

Let's talk LuLaRoe.  I have been with this company since the end of July.  My initial kit showed up in early August and my launch was mid-August.  There are many things I love about LuLaRoe.  I especially love that I can wear dressy clothes and feel like I am in my pajamas.  Sometimes I wish I could sleep in them at night, but I like to make my clothes last.  I still have some things from Mervyn's.  Man, I miss that store.

January has been a bit of a slow month.  Still, I am mystified at the beauties that just aren't selling.  I have so much gorgeous stuff that is  hanging here waiting for  a new home.  Look at this small Nicole with one size leggings.  These leggings are roses!  How can anyone pass up roses?

 
This is an XS Irma with a medium Cassie.  I refuse to give up on this outfit. I love this Cassie.  If I lose ten more pounds, it may become mine.

Here is another outfit that I wish were my size.  It is an extra small Irma with a medium Cassie.  I love the olive green in this.  I tend to wear a lot of bright colors, but I also have a lot of love for olive green.

And who could pass up these one size leggings?  If they were my size, they would be gone.

Come on ladies.  Buy my awesome stuff!  I also have tons of full figured stuff, all of which would be making its way into my closet if I could afford it.

I wish a beautiful day to all.  I am going to go no that walk I promised myself I would take.  If you have read this, remember to take time for yourself when you can.  It might be 15 minutes here or 15 minutes there, but your body needs it.  As I was once told, "You can't give from an empty basket."  I am off to fill that basket.