No more power.

Haha! Gotcha'...bet you thought I was going to post about how I've decided to go without electricity....I'm not quite there....yet.

My life for the last 15 years has been full of power. I have pushed myself hard. Too hard. I've been like one of those plate spinners at the circus....the man with all the sticks and his plates up in the air....one wrong move and it will all come crashing down. I ran my business with a vengeance...spending countless hours on my feet, answering phones and faxes, filling and placing orders, cutting fabric, designing new sets, packing, shipping and putting out fires. For a few years I was the volunteer diva sitting on boards and committees and working on countless projects. I could bounce a baby on my hip, corral a toddler, speak on the phone, lead a meeting, design a new bedding set, pull weeds and bake banana bread all at the same time. Queen multi-tasker.


I look back on my "to do before you turn 40 list" and have a short laugh with myself when I realize that most of the items on it didn't get done before last September when the big 4-0 happened to me: ride on the Concord, skydive, run a marathon, learn to scuba dive....get the idea? That list was all about speed....guess I thought I needed to push myself a little harder? Aren't we all doing that on some level? Spinning too many plates and not knowing how to stop? We live in an extreme society that makes it pretty easy to be that way..... energy drinks, coffee, highly processed convenient food, too many activity choices, too much noise....we've even got: power yoga....that one is hilarious to me. We jack ourselves up with sugar & caffeine and put ourselves to bed with alcohol and sleeping pills. If there's one thing we don't need any more of: it's power! Where do we go from here? Higher taxes for employees who opt to take their vacation time? Full frontal nudity in daytime tv? Candy so sour it makes your eyeballs explode? Soft drinks with enough sugar & caffeine to keep you awake for 48 hours? Extreme sports training for toddlers?

An interesting thing happened to me last October 1 (3 days after I turned 40, btw). It was the first day in approximately 15 years that I didn't have an office to go to. I had helped the new owners of my business through their "transition period" and they were ready to set sail on their own. So, I found myself on October 1, and a couple of months there-after, wandering around my house without that familiar feeling of power I had gotten so accustomed to. There were no phones or faxes, no customers, no toddlers, no fires to put out....I almost lost my mind. My mind and body kept tricking me into thinking I was stressed out- I didn't know how to 'NOT' be stressed. It makes me sad thinking of it.





Since that time I have been making a new list- a real list: "to do for the rest of your life list": breathe, dream, remember, imagine, grow, savor, rest, enjoy, love, meditate, change, learn, smile, heal, cry, laugh, explore, dance, create, evolve, trust....




I'm already beginning to love this place. It's quiet here. I only hear the wind in the trees, the cows across the street mooing and the birds outside. I took a nap this afternoon....I mean, like a real nap...as in- under the cover/ drooling on my pillow 2 hour nap. This may not seem like a big accomplishment to any of you readers that are natural nappers. I, on the other hand have never been able to settle my mind down enough to sleep during the day and feel rested when I woke. Today is different. I feel the "power" from the last 15 years draining from my body and it feels good. It's calm and peaceful. No more power for me, thanks...I've had my fill.

Plate full of yum.

Dinner last night was delicious and so easy! I love stacked meals...I'm sure there's some fancy shmansy French term for a layered plate but I don't know it so I just call it stacked....Here are my stacks in case you might like to try it...feel free to substitute- use what you have!

Bottom stack: Quinoa with Shiitake mushrooms:
I sauteed the mushrooms in a little olive oil until they were starting to soften and release their liquid. I then added a cup of quinoa (rinse first) and stirred it around to coat. Then added 2 cups of water (I didn't have any stock- that would have been better) and cooked until it was done (just about 15 minutes or less) Add sea salt and pepper to taste

Next stack: Oven roasted tomatos:
I sliced 1 tomato in 4 fat slices. Put those in a single layer on a pan or in a pyrex. Sprinkled with sea salt & pepper, minced fresh garlic (I used 1 clove for all 4), sprinkled with dried thyme (fresh would be better but I didn't have any) and a piece of a bay leaf on top. I drizzled with olive oil and let that sit for about an hour. I then cooked them in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes- just until they are nice & soft...you could probably cook them less than 10. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Next stack: Pan seared Cod:
I seasoned the fish with sea salt and pepper on both sides and let sit for about 30 minutes. I heated some olive oil over med high heat in a large pan and seared the fish on both sides- just until starting to brown. I then baked it in the oven at 350 until nice & flaky- probably about 15 minutes (it all depends on the size fish). Don't overcook it. Remember that the fish will continue to cook even when you take it out the oven.

Top stack: Wilted Spinach & Arugula with Balsamic Venison Sausage Dressing
For the dressing I sauteed some venison sausage in a pan just until done. Don't drain the fat. I added a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. While the dressing was still hot I poured it over the salad greens and stirred until they were nice and coated (they will wilt...this is the point of putting the dressing in hot).

This is a delicious easy meal and it looks so pretty on the plate. It's yummy to get a bite with the flavor from each stack.....mmm mmmm good!

Life is good.

Life is good. We made it to Mass without incident (other than traffic in CT), unpacked the truck and have worked like slaves for the last 2 days getting boxes unpacked, furniture placed, curtain rods hung and beds made. It's beginning to look like a home around here. I took Stokes back to the airport yesterday, stopped at Whole Foods in Cambridge on the way home and am going to attempt my first real meal in my new kitchen tonight.

The menu: Pan Roasted Cod with Shiitake Quinoa and Oven Roasted Tomato.

Wilted Arugula Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

*everything's local except the quinoa & oil & vinegar....I'll let you know how it goes!

I slept well last night- for the first time in a long time and breathed a long deep breath of cool New England air this morning. I'm here for a week alone...I can't wait.

Are we there yet?

Time now: Friday, June 13: 3:22 pm
Total miles traveled: 1135 miles
States traveled through today: WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT
Current location: In a traffic jam outside of Danbury, CT
Miles left to go: around 150
Current driving speed: around 20 mph
Frustration level: very high
Games played today: the state capital game & thinking of all the different names we call poop
Most ridiculous experience today: paying $32 to drive over the Geo Washington Bridge in NYC
Best food eaten today: Big Sky chocolate chip cookies
Worst food eaten today: sleeve of mentos...you know I'm bored if I'm eating mentos
Most expensive gas so far: $4.49/ gallon
General attitude check: delirious

5 States Down

Time now: 6:55 am, Friday, June 13

Distance traveled yesterday: 770 miles

States driven through yesterday: AL, GA, SC, NC, VA

Miles to go today: 523

Sleeping place last night: Holiday Inn Express Woodstock, VA

Lowest/ highest gas: $3.78/ $4.05

Attitude check: Grumpy. In need of some coffee.

Worst state traveled: NC (terrible roads)

Best state traveled: VA (gorgeous scenery...lots of farms :)

Honk if you love farmers!

Well, I'm not sure how we got from point A to point B but we are actually on the road! We will drive for the next 2 days (probably 12 hours each day) and travel through 12 states. The U-Haul we are driving is ridiculously large and ridiculously full. We had to cut ourselves off from adding just "one more thing" because we added "one more thing" about 100 times.

Thank you to all who have emailed- I haven't had time to respond individually but I appreciate all of your positive feedback and encouragement! It was a strange feeling leaving my house this morning...knowing that our lives are about to change...in wonderful and mysterious ways that we can't even fathom at this point.

We'll keep you posted on the progress! Honk honk!

Save the planet- eat organic!

I really don't want to use this blog as my soap box but I just can't help myself today. The kids and I ran by Moe's for lunch today...yes, we're eating junk food- we know those days are numbered! There was a hand-written sign on the door that said, "No more fresh tomato products until further notice." Hmmmm....this can't be good. While we were checking out I asked the woman running the register what happened to the tomatos. She told me there was a problem with " the dye" they were using in the tomatos...with a sort of bewildered look on her face. The owner came screeching around the corner to correct her that No No No...it isn't the dye...it's just that there's been an outbreak of salmonella found in tomatos in 22 states so until further notice the government has recommended that everyone stop serving fresh tomatos.....Thank Goodness- it's just salmonella and they're not really dying our tomatos. I feel so safe knowing that the USDA has caught the problem- only 160 people were sickened because of it. Go USA.

I've had a lot of mixed emotions going on inside of me for the last few weeks. Why am I really doing this? Is it the right thing for my family? Is it really just nuts after all? Is our industrialized food system really that bad? How important is the local food movement? The funky tomato scenario is all the confirmation I needed. Maybe it was me coming down from the double shot of espresso I had at Starbuck's this morning (seemed like a good idea at the time) or maybe I'm just really tired from all the chaos trying to get out of town but, honestly, I really could have stood there and sobbed at the cash register if I had let myself...raising my hands to the sky- THIS is why I am moving to a farm!!!

People all over the world... join hands...start a love train! Love your body, love your mind, love the Earth... say "NO THANKS" to funky food. Save the planet....eat local & organic.

So, I promise not to use my blog as a platform....except when I just can't help myself :)