My first attempt at a fashion post

For the past few months, I have been reticent in my promises of discussing how to dress well.  I apologize for my negligence however with the changing of the seasons, I can remain silent no longer.  In the summer, especially here in the desert, I can let a few fashion faux pas go.  After all, it is hot and really, tank tops and shorts are probably the most efficient way of keeping cool.  Now that the weather is cooling off however, one can't be so lucky to get by with slovenly apparel.  The biggest offenders I see of fashion malice are stay at home moms.  When I first "stopped working" I too fell into the trap of, "Why take a shower when I'm just going to be thrown up on 5 minutes after I get out?"  However, within a few weeks, I realized the error of my ways.  I would pass by a mirror and physically lose energy and the will to do anything constructive simply because I hadn't taken the time to take care of myself.  I soon made it a PRIORITY to 1. take a shower, 2. put on make-up, and 3. make the bed.  Even if I accomplished nothing more in the day after that, I felt better about myself as a human if I accomplished those three things.  I'm not saying at the end of the day I wasn't covered in baby vomit head to toe, but I felt better about myself.

Now that my boys are a bit bigger, of course my accomplishments throughout the day are much greater as they are not reliant on me to be a milk maker, diaper changer, and general soother, but my philosophy from those baby days remains consistent, if you dress like your appearance matters to you, you will have more energy and feel better about yourself.

I see so many moms my age whose hair is laying lank and lifeless on their heads, wearing no make-up and in the typical "mom uniform" (jeans and t-shirts).  Not that there is anything wrong with this "uniform", it is very functional especially when you are cleaning bathrooms, you don't want to bleach stain a good blazer, but you can still dress well.

Take my outfit today for instance.  Yes, it is the "mom uniform" a simple sweater from Eddie Bauer and jeans.  I am playing house cleaning catch-up today so I don't want to go too "fancy" because of my above reason, I don't want to bleach stain anything I really care about.  But, I can take my outfit and make it a little more put together looking.  My sweater does have a very plain neckline so I took a nice lacy scarf and tied it around my neck (this can be removed when scrubbing bathrooms!).  When I drove my son to school, I layered a nice fitted 5 button beige blazer over the top and looked quite chic.  

Make-up is a must in my opinion definitely if you are a mother (one must cover those under eye circles) and also if you are not a mother but are over 30.  We no longer have that ideal skin we had in our young 20's and a little foundation goes a long way in helping us to put our best foot forward.

Even though my day will consist purely of caring for my children, carpooling, cleaning and blogging, I still took the time to look my best today and I feel my energy level is higher for it.  Try it and you will be amazed at how much better you feel inside.

Chicken Soup

This past weekend, all three of my boys were sick.  By Sunday, being quite sick of all the sickness myself and ready for a little break, I headed to Costco to pick up an easy dinner of roasted chicken, bagged Caesar salad, and some green beans.  Last night, finally being back in the mood to cook after the little break, I made a chicken and rice soup with the leftover chicken.  It was yummy and hearty and even the little guys liked it (also the big guy) and used pantry staples and leftovers from the fridge.  I had leftover rice from this weekend also so I threw that in as well and it bulked it up quite a bit.  

Chicken and Rice Soup by Joie de vivre

1/2 cooked chicken with pieces of meat cut into fairly hearty chunks (about 4-5 cups chicken)

A large handful of green beans cut into soup sized pieces

1/2 onion cut into large pieces to allow onion haters to pick pieces out

2 carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into soup sized pieces

4 stalks of celery, cut in half lengthwise and cut into soup sized pieces

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 15 oz. can butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup cooked, cold rice

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 vegetable boullion

6-8 cups boiling water

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring until softened but not browned.  Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.  In the meantime, pour a little of the boiling water over the boullion to dissolve it.  Add to the soup pot along with the rest of the boiling water.  Add the chicken pieces, beans and the rice.  Add salt and pepper sparingly to taste as boullion is salty.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  If desired, you may skim off the olive oil that floats to the surface.  Ladle into soup bowls and serve to your sickies.

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut

A few years ago I bought the book 125 best Vegetarian Slow Cooker recipes by Judith Finlayson as a way of adding some healthy slow-cooked meals to my repertoire.  Truly, as is so often the case, I have only tried a few recipes from this book as a whole, but one of my favorite soup recipes of all times is in there, Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut.  To hear the name, some people balk, and it has been a few years since I first tried it so I'm not sure of my motivation in trying it in the first place, but the comment I wrote above the recipe with the date of 11/1/05 was, "Delicious!"  I have a habit of writing the date and any comments above any new recipe I try in a cookbook and "delicious" is a word I reserve for the special few.  I have since made this recipe for a church potluck to rave reviews and made it this past weekend while my parents were visiting.  My father couldn't get enough of it.  I love it because besides from being delicious, it saves me so much time to put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker at the beginning of the day and let it work its magic.  Enjoy, and if you try it, let me know how you like it!

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut by Judith Finlayson from 125 best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes

Serves 8 to 10 as a starter, or 4 to 6 as a main course

Ingredients:

2 cups red lentils

1 Tbls vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 large carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, including juice

6 cups vegetable stock (because it is a vegetarian cookbook, I use chicken stock though)

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk

1 Tbls. lemon juice

1-2 Thai chilies finiely chopped

Thin slices lemon (optional)

Finely chopped cilantro (optional)

1.  In a colander, rinse lentils thoroughly under cold running water.  Set aside.

2.  In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions and carrots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, tumeric, cumin seeds, salt and peppercorns and cook stirring, for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil, breakng up with the back of a spoon.  Stir in reserved lentils and stock.

3.  Transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware.  Cover and cook on Low for 8-10 hours or High for 4-5 hours, until carrots are tender and mixture is bubbling.  Stir in coconut milk, lemon juice and chili pepper and cook on High for 20-30 minutes until heated through.

4.  When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with lemon slices and cilantro if using.