Alotta Brownies Bakery: Cranberry Orange & Cherry Almond Scones

I had the extreme pleasure of visiting Alotta Brownies Bakery in Fremont, NE this past weekend after receiving an invitation from a friend to join her and some friends for a baking class. I'd been getting Facebook updates for weeks since the holidays after I'd "liked" their page after sampling some goodies my sister-in-law brought for a gathering.  Not only were they delicious, everything looked impeccable!

Here's a small sampling from her case:

I believe these were called PB Fudge Cinnamon Rolls, but for sure, the nickname I do remember: 

Butt Busters.

Holistic Wellness for 2012

I can't thank my friends over at Blue Bottle Coffee House and Blue Yoga enough for existing.

Period.

They are just that cool.  And I say that because they are the closest "real" yoga studio to me, they have taken this charming historical old building and have transformed it into a place of holistic health.

Smashed Turnips

I'm in a bit of a beef slump, I know.  It's just that I moved and beforehand just purchased half of a quarter, so it's there!

So, I won't share yet another slow roasted beef recipe, but you know, 250 F until it's done.  That is what I did with this delicious grass-fed Sirloin Tip Roast yesterday morning.  I got up before everyone else and threw it in the oven right away, so it would be ready at noon for Sunday dinner, just like in the movies and on Leave it to Beaver.

I did still have some turnips left from last week's recipe.

Beef & Veggie Soup with Homemade Bone Broth

Ahhh...I am finally all moved and have a functional kitchen again.  So, I was able to get back to some "kitchen science."  In my move, I had discovered a package of grass-fed beef soup bones. These were of the traditional, meaty variety, so I was pretty excited about it.

I prepared them for roasting, with some Himalayan Salt, All-Seasons Salt, Apple Cider Vinegar and roasted covered for 45 minutes on 350.

5 Ways to Create Inner Peace in an Over-Connected Life

It’s nice not being so connected at all times.  I remember when people would just leave you a message and you’d return said message at your leisure or your earliest convenience. 

We live in a time where people have cell phones hanging from their ears at all times, updating social media from smart phones wherever they are, checking email for work & play, surfing the web, texts and if you don’t respond to a text, you get a 2^nd one asking to confirm receipt or an immediate response.  Phone calls are not a special occasion and it’s not unusual to take a call in the middle of a conversation.   

All of these luxuries,of which I am guilty of as well (and love as a techno junky) become demands on our time.  It can be a constant, intrusive stream of communication in your life.

The simple fact that we can be connected at all times doesn’tmean we should be connected at all times.  When is it that you shut things off and enjoy the time you have with the people that are right there with you?  I am working on being present in the present.

As a parent who works full-time in a home-office situation, it is difficult to unplug. 

But, I remember when I burst into tears of joy on a vacation over five years ago after I realized my phone wouldn’t work because of the elevation.  I knew nothing could interrupt my trip and what a relief that was! This is when I knew taking technology sabbaticals are necessary. And so are setting boundaries and rules about technology and time in the day-to-day that have worked well for me.

I have worked in technology and in a remote office setting for the better part of the last 10 years. Here are a few ways I’ve discovered to access some of the inner peace I lose when I don’t save time for myself:

• Settingmy phone to vibrate at all times.

Beeps, notifications and ring tones are distracting. They take away from conversations and activities.  I have found iPhone to be less intrusive than my Droid, which flashed and went off with emails.  I felt I was obsessively checking in to make the flashing stop.  iPhone allows me to have notifications on my badges, so I can see it when I want to check in. 

• Turn off the landline ringer.   

I mostly use my iPhone as my main phone, as do most people.  The landline is something I have for work and for longer calls with family.  Since it is not unlisted, I tend to get random calls.  It is just one more interruption that  I don’t find necessary.

• Don’t answer the door. 

As a person who offices at home, if I am working and need to not be disturbed, I don’t answer the door with a few brief exceptions.  I find this especially important during the precious three hour window when BOTH kids are in school.

• Shut out the extra noise.
  
       It’s hard with kids, and some like it forbackground noise, but I try to keep the TV off unless we decide we just want to veg. I DVR my favorite show or things I think the kids might enjoy, but we usually have a purpose when we turn it on. The kids are better behaved when they don’t watch as much and complain less when I ask them to turn it off.  And it helps me come down from work as we ease into the evening if it's just not on period. 

•  Turn off my cell phone at night.

As I’ve gotten older (and hopefully wiser),I have found that I need at least 8-9 hours of sleep at night.  So, this is a way that I can make sure I get a full night’s undisturbed rest.  Some people ask me, “But what about an emergency?”  I will be a much better person during an emergency if I am rested. Truly, I mean it when I say – IT.IS.BEST.FOR.EVERYONE.  

 It's the little things that keep us from teetering over the brink...

Days Till Keystone Deadline - 42... 41... 40... | We Are Power Shift

How the Payroll Tax Cut Bill hoghoused an amendment on the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Days Till Keystone Deadline - 42... 41... 40... | We Are Power Shift

Happy Chaos and Punky Power » Aspiring Mama

I loved the character Punky Brewster growing up. She was so pretty, funny, had an attitude and was cute, yet spunky. I also wanted to BE Soleil Moon Frye, the actress. I just knew she had the coolest friends and her life behind the show was WAY better than mine. I'm sure it was totally complicated, full of real-life (just like mine) and probably a lot harder.

10 Signs that your Date, Boyfriend, wife or husband is a Sociopath

This is an important issue to me that I have come to find out is not all that uncommon. Sociopaths are not serial killers or what we've come to think of.  They are people who you might interact with daily, but privately they are terrorizing others, living a double life, or deceiving others to a level of astronomical proportions.

I came across the author of this book's site recently once before and have seen a post on a similar topic, Gaslighting by Yashar Ali. This happens to women and men alike.

I'm NOT writing a New Year Post 2012

I was not planning on writing a New Year post.

I’ve actually been hemming and hawing about how to start the New Year on this blog.  I have always been a writer by nature and at heart.  If anything is going on in my life, I must write.  I may not always write about the nitty gritty (a girl needs her privacy, too), but at least write as a cathartic way to get my creative juices going in a positive direction.

So, if I wasn’t going to write this, why did I?

As it happened, I was outside this morning thinking about 2012. Enjoying the crisp January air, still an unseasonably warm 30 degrees here in Nebraska and still no snow on the ground.  The sun is out and shining. 

I was thinking about a couple of topics in particular with regard to the New Year, when suddenly, for no apparent reason, I completely fell on my face! On my front porch. On cement. Right outside my front door. In broad daylight.

  This girl has nothing on me, I had no steps to trip me up and my face was firmly planted.