DEAR BOYS...Year In Review

Cause its always fun to look back at the...adventures (read disasters hahaha) of my dating life.

Say Happy Holidays

Its been a difficult couple of weeks.

I hate being negative on my blog...hello the name itself is positive!

But I also don't like to lie.


I've been in a bad mood for 2 weeks.

And its starting to weigh on me.  That much negativity gets really old really fast.

So I made a choice.  And made a change.


Every stranger got a smile in the hallways of work and the aisle of  grocery store.
Whether I felt like smiling or not.

Every bell ringer and checkout lady at the store, the post office, the mall got a
"Happy Holidays" (gotta be politically correct of course hahaha)

Christmas songs played and I took every opportunity to puke Christmas spirit everywhere.
I broke out my little cheap pre-lit tree from my time in an apartment all buy myself and set it up in my bed room.
Its surrounded by old scrubs that I need to get rid of and piles of papers I've collected from HR meetings and orientation with my new job  (holy cow kill some trees much???)
But its Christmas spirit.

I'm drinking lots of hot chocolate and wearing red and green and silver and gold.




And I haven't been perfect at it.
But its helped....

So just saying.....if you are in a early winter funk....feeling Scroogy or worse Grinchy....try a little Christmas spirit!


And as always....SMILE
Be Happy Be Healthy!

I'm sorry for falling off the wagon again.

Its been a VERY interesting 2 weeks.

Lots of moments to smile.
Lots of moments to cry.

A heartache.
A victory.

All at once which is kinda hard to figure out.


But I've learned a lot about myself...

I've cried and I've yelled.  I've sat in stunned silence and spent many a fitful night.
I've tried to be positive when nothing seems to be going right.


Its been really hard.
I've had to work at it.



But do you know what I learned?

1. Heartache doesn't go away easily or quickly...no matter what you may have anticipated or expected or even planned.

2. Smiling at strangers...telling the lady ringing you up at the store "Happy Holidays" really does make you feel better.

3.

Things You Should Know About: SALAD TIPS!!!!

So I make a MEAN salad.


In fact...my salads have won awards....
see???

And honestly its not that hard.  So I am going to share a few tips/tricks I use to create award winning salads!



First

You want to pick a fruit or sweet ingredient.  This is how you will base all your other choices on so pick wisely!
Mandarin oranges......apples......grapes......berries......tomatoes


Second

Now you need a green.  Nope you don't start with this one, though it is HIGHLY important.  Pick one based on your fruit.  Don't get caught in the same everytime....
green leafy.....red leafy......romaine.......red romaine.....spinach
even iceberg or a mix!!!!


Third

You need a crunch
If you are going gluten free avoid the croutons...although those are a great option.  As are chow mein noodles.
Nuts and seeds usually are the best.  Pecans and walnuts work well.  Cashews and sunflower seeds are great too.  Sometimes candy-ing them adds the perfect touch.


Fourth

You need some color and flavor.
This is where you get to have fun.  Pick ingredients that match flavors with your fruit.  And colors that you don't have.
Red onions, green onions, crasins, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, olives.
You could add some protein in at this point if you are not doing vegetarian....ham, chicken, turkey, bacon, hard boiled eggs.


Fifth

Now dressing...Something light is usually best.  I love making simple vinaigrettes that bring out the flavor of the fruit.
Oil and vinegar of course...then a juice that matches.  And herbs/spices of course.  And salt and pepper...without that you TOTALLY won't have it!


And an optional addition I love if you aren't going vegan...CHEESE.  Of course again match your fruit and something that stands alone pretty well...so nothing softer than feta for sure.
I've found mozzarella and Parmesan go REALLY well with most things...feta and cheddar work well but have to be paired correctly


Its a pretty simple five steps!

Here are a few I have used recently


Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
(I used mozzarella instead of feta and pecans)

Apple and Spring Mix with Cinnamon Vinaigrette
(I excluded the pomegranates, used sunflower seeds and cheddar cheese)

Mandarin Cranberry with Basil Vinaigrette
 


These are ones I still want to try.......

http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2013/04/southwestern-chopped-salad-with.html

http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/italian-chopped-salad/