Backbone

I really wanted to sit down and write about something I lack the backbone to dish out. It's something that has stewed and bubbled for years, and rises to the surface every now and again to let me know I haven't dealt with it yet, then it moves to the bottom of my Ocean where it lays dormant and secretive. Part of it is, I just don't know how to start. Where do I start? There are so many components to it, and I lack the eloquent nature it needs to breathe from my core, and it needs to be finessed before I gut that fish. I will and do need to write about it, I just need a bit more time to gather the tools. And, maybe get a little stronger in my soul.

On other news, I haven't chose a paint color. I haven't done my taxes. Bad form, I know. I don't even have a good excuse. March has me swimming in this vitamin D deprived haze, and I do this every year at this time. I fall. I really, truly believe it is lack of sunlight, and I know I am not alone. This is the sludge month of the year where I feel like Atreyu from "The Neverending Story", slogging my way through the swamp of sadness. If I don't keep moving, it will swallow me up.

The sun did come out this weekend. It wasn't warm, but it was very pleasant, and it was just enough of a reminder that sunshine is on it's way to save the day. It didn't take long for that swamp to become a lush green oasis, and I took my girl out for a photo shoot in the sunlight amongst the spring daffodils and made us a treat.

 

 

To toast the sunshine that so graciously came our way, I made us a smoothie. When Grace was a wee one in ballet class, we came home one day, and she was hungry and wanted a snack. More specifically, a smoothie. I dug into the fridge and came out with a handful of stuff we normally have around the house, and threw it in the blender. My scrawled recipe I wrote down all those years ago still hangs on the side of our fridge, but I make it so often I only have to glance at it every once and awhile to make sure I'm doing it right. It reminds me every time I make it of three year old Grace sucking it down in her pink leotard giving me the thumbs up. Here is the recipe:

                                Gracie's Afternoon Snack Smoothie


                           1/4 C Orange juice

                           1/3 Cup Vanilla soy milk

                           1/4 Cup Frozen blueberries

                           6   Medium sized frozen strawberries

                           3 oz. Tillamook Vanilla bean yogurt

                           1 Tbsp. Honey

                           1/2 tsp. sugar

                           1/4 Cup baby spinach


                   Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Make sure the berries are completely frozen, and not fresh, so the smoothie will be of smoothie consistency. The spinach adds a nice back flavor, and if I don't have spinach on hand, I'll swap it out for Kale. Sometimes I'll put in frozen mango and pineapple in place of the berries, and that is good too. Add what you want, be creative. If using frozen strawberries form Costco, they are mondo berries, so use only four.

I highly recommend getting this little Bella Cucina machine. I bought mine at Macy's a couple years ago thinking it would be another cool kitchen gadget I would hardly use, but I use it all the time, and in the summer, it stays put on the kitchen counter to whirrr up salad dressings and marinades in a millisecond. I love this little machine, and Target sells them for around $20.

 

By making one of these smoothies, you may be able to coax the sun out of hiding. If not, it might make you very popular with the animal crowd, which may be sunshine of a different kind.

 

In any case, grab it with both hands, bask in it, drink it, let it course it's Midas touch through your body. Even if it means sleeping on the kitchen floor to soak it up. Have a good week, everyone.