Category: #TheFab50s

Ski Date

I am sooooooo proud of myself because two Winters ago I took the plunge and finally learned how to ski.  I was born in a blizzard in Newport Rhode Island on Valentines Day, 1962 so my initial thought was:  ‘it’s about time I learned’ (Lol).  Actually I’ve been wanting to ski for quite some time.  Here are some of the reasons why:

 

1) Being born in the Winter

 2) Being born in a Blizzard

3) Being born in New England

4) Looking for something to do on snowy days besides eat

 5) Having yet another thing to check off on my Bucket List

 

 

Growing up in Groton, Connecticut in the 70’s I especially loved Winter time because there was so much snow back then that inevitably school would get cancelled and me and my 6 brothers and sisters could go outside and play all day.  Yay!

 

I loved Winter sports as a young girl too.  I was ice skating, sledding and playing ice hockey with the neighborhood kids so skiing was in my future, I just didn’t know it…

 

My partner James has skied multiple times in his life so he was happy to hear that I was finally ready to go on a ski date with him.

 

Ski Date: We set out on a snowy Winter day in February of 2013, right after my 51st birthday.  I work out regularly at the Edge Fitness Club in Hamden so I wasn’t worried about my physical ability to ski.  I was just a tad bit concerned about learning how to maneuver my way down the slopes without falling and also with how to stop the skis correctly.

 

We chose Mount Southington in Plantsville, Connecticut  because they have 4 beginner slopes for novices like me and because it was such a short drive away for us.

 

I borrowed James’s mother’s ski jacket, his extra pair of insulated ski gloves and extra ski goggles and his sister’s ski pants.  I wore my own ski hat and scarf and dressed in lots of thermal layer undershirts.  Wise choice too as we headed out about 10am in the morning when it was still sunny and relatively warm and did not return until much later that afternoon when the weather had turned quite cool.

 

We checked in, filled out paperwork and paid for a 4 hour Flex Pass.  Then we picked up my rented ski boots (which I needed help strapping on) and my rented ski poles.  James had his own ski equipment.  I felt like a Chunky Monkey with all that gear on, could barely walk but was eager to get started (smile).

 

Going up the beginner’ slope on the chair lift for the first time was pretty awesome.   I also started to get a few butterflies in my stomach knowing that when we finally reached the top, I would be skiing my way back down.  At the top of the slope I saw a small group of 7-year-old children getting lessons so I felt comforted in the fact knowing that if they could do it, I certainly could!

 

Anyway, skiing down the first beginner slope (circles) was easier than I thought. I didn’t get fancy or anything, I simply glided down at a pretty good pace and therefore had no trouble stopping once I made it to the bottom of the hill.  We caught the chair lift again and skied down that first slope at least 4 or 5 more times before we moved on to the next level (squares).  By now I was starting to feel more confident and even getting a little cocky on the squares which caused me to wipe out a couple of times!   However, my adrenaline was flowing and I truly felt like I could conquer the world.  It was such an incredible feeling.  And highly addictive.  We went up and down a countless number of times and by now the air was starting to get real cold, the sky was darkening and my cheeks were beginning to feel numb.  It was time to make our way back to the lodge for some hot chocolate and refreshments.  Our ski date had ended but the memories, aaaahhh, those would last forever…

 

IMG_1312
Our Ski Date – Chunky Monkey and her partner in crime (smile)

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

16 Bean & Clean!

One of my favorite seasons in New England is the Fall and it’s just around the corner.  Me and my partner James are gathering fire wood for weekend backyard bonfires as we speak!

 

Weekend bonfire in the fire pit

 

And I’m feeling like cooking again so here is another one of my favorite clean bean soup recipes.  This one is packed with nutrients and sure to fill you up on a crisp Fall day or night!

 

Ingredients:

one bag of 16 bean soup mix

1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 package of Herb-Ox low sodium chicken stock

4 to 5 cloves of garlic or 2 large tablespoons of minced garlic

2 cups of organic carrots

3 stalks of organic celery

one large red onion

one box of organic grape tomatoes

one package of chicken sausage

2 tbsps of crushed red pepper seasoning

1 tbsp of pure ground black pepper

6 to 8 cups of water

Rinse entire bag of beans well and soak in a large pan overnight.  In the morning drain and rinse beans. Here is where I detract from the recipe.  From this point on I use a large crock pot which I find to be a timesaver and I also find it creates added flavor.  Add pre-soaked beans to large crock pot.

Put all veggies (red onion, carrots, celery stalks) separately in the food processor to get them super fine.  Now put the veggies, the olive oil, the minced garlic (my preference is minced), the chicken stock and the water in with the beans in the large crock pot.  Sprinkle in crushed red pepper seasoning and pure ground black pepper.  Stir everything together and place the cover on the crock pot.  Then bring to a rapid boil, lower heat and cook on low for up to 7 hours.

While the bean soup is cooking, cut chicken sausage links in half and then cut into small squares and bake in oven on 350 degree for 30 minutes.  Add the cooked chicken sausage pieces to soup dish when finished.

Slice grape tomatoes in half and put them aside in refrigerator.  Don’t add them to 16 bean soup until one hour before soup is finished cooking.

Cook on low and slow until beans are soft.  Once done, serve in small bowls – delish!

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL

 

Yikes! Has it really been 35 years since high school?!??

imageI feel like pinching myself because tonight I am going to my 35th High School Reunion!  I still can’t believe it because I remember my mother mentioning her 35th High School reunion to me when I was a child and me thinking how old everyone there would be!  Now I know better…we are all 53 but I must say that I truly believe that 50 is the new 40 in terms of health and well-being.

 

Here’s a picture of us when we were still in high school:

image

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and getting contact information from those I have completely lost touch with.  I’ve attended my 5th, 10th and 15th high school reunions so this is not completely new to me.  We did not have a 20th and I inadvertently missed the 25th.  There was not a 30th either so this will be the first time I have seen my classmates since I was 33!  20 years ago – unbelievable, as time has truly flown by.

The event takes place at the Groton Elks Lodge on Shennecossett Road in Groton. There will be a relaxing sit down BBQ Chicken dinner, cash bar, late night pizza, dancing and music by Next Level Entertainment featuring 80s music since we graduated in 1980.  Looking forward to a good time!

Me and Bonnie and Sherry my former track buddies

Me and Bonnie and Sherry — my former track buddies

Happy faces after eating!

Happy faces after eating!

Memory Lane pix

Memory Lane pix!

Me and Linda Cady

Me and Linda Cady – my February bday twin!

A keepsake and it was good!

Our delicious keepsake which I ate!  Ooops!  As you can see, I had a very good time and was so glad that I went.

Bean Clean!

In a perfect world I would always eat clean and get the proper rest.  However, from time to time, I find  myself overindulging on vino and eating food with too much sodium.  It is during these times when I break down and start cooking my clean dishes.  Here’s a recipe I received from my former co-worker Michele which is so easy to make and soooooooooo good!  I call it Clean Bean:

In a large saucepan put about 2 tbsp of olive oil and heat on low heat

Chop by hand or in a food processor 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, 1 large red onion, 1/2 bunch of cilantro and add to heated oil

Sauté until soft

Add 2 cans of kidney beans and 2 cans of black beans with most of the juice drained

Add 1 cup of whole grain or brown rice and 1 and a 1/2 cups of water

Stir well and add 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 1 teaspoon of chili powder.  If it tastes like it needs salt, feel free to add it

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until all water is absorbed which may take up to an hour.

Add cooked chicken sausage (sliced in to quarters) and cherry or grape tomatoes (sliced in half)

All done!  Yummy! Continue reading Bean Clean!

An Apple a day…

Two mornings ago my Apple iPhone died and I could not revive it.  I pressed and pressed and pressed the on/off button on top of it for super looooooong periods of time but it would not come back to me.  I was devastated.  I started “jones-ing,”  getting all twitchy and stuff and feeling like I was disconnected from the world.  Even though I still had my iPad, it just wasn’t the same as I could not make phone calls from my iPad…the funny thing is that I seldom use the phone on my iPhone, opting instead to send emails and texts as it’s more convenient.  Nevertheless, the first place I went that morning was the Apple Retail Store in New Haven, CT.  I arrived at about 830am and could immediately see through the glass doors that only one person, a staff worker, was inside.  I looked at her, she looked at me, I looked at her again and she pointed to the sign on the door which posted their hours.  They did not open the doors until 10am.  Can you imagine!  Unbelievable!  But then I remembered that they held some of their training sessions between 8am and 10am (I actually attended a training session there once along with my News 8 sales teammates and sales managers).

 

Apple store

 

At any rate I was still highly annoyed so I decided I would just go in to work and not come back there until lunch time.  Work provided me with some relief as I have my laptop computer, my iPad Air and my land line just in case anyone needed to get in touch with me…

 

techies

 

The morning flew by and at lunch time I drove back to the Apple Retail Store, dead phone in tow.  As luck would have it, I walked in and did not see the usual throng of folks in line, waiting to be assigned by the ‘concierge”  to an Apple Retail Specialist. There was only one lady in front of me and she was clearly annoyed.  Apparently she had gotten to the store over an hour ago (without an appointment) and was told to come back in an hour and she would be seen.  So when she came back, the concierge told her that there were now  just 7 people in front of her waiting to be helped!  By the way, making an appointment online is crucial before going to the Apple Retail Store if you have a major problem.  I had a feeling my phone problem was not major.  I explained to the concierge how my phone had died and could not be revived and he immediately pressed his finger on the top button and Voila– the apple logo came up!   I gave him a big hug (psyche!) actually I thanked him and left the store with a huuuuuge grin on my face.  My iPhone was back and I was, once again, back in business!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

TVFL