I am now proudly serving on the Planning and Zoning committee in our community and had my first meeting last week. It was definitely not what I had imagined and I am pretty sure I'm the youngest on the committee, but then if you look at the average age in this community, it is mostly an older community, but I think the city is wanting to attract younger families.
I was anxious about my first meeting since I have no background in this area, but once I met everyone, I felt better about it. The committee is completely made up of citizens with various backgrounds and I think it will be interesting serving on it...a new adventure. So, I've read all the Planning and Zoning codes (not an expert yet) and I've got my game face on and ready to get all P'ed and Z'ed up...hopefully while making a more sustainable community.
"I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones."
John Cage
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Pinterest Junkie.....
Where did you get that lovely idea....Pinterest of course! Hi, I'm a Pinterest Junkie, don't judge me. Pinterest where have you been all my life, with the plethora of ideas and other crap that I seem to pin on my boards. Seriously, if you have checked it out, it is great, (shout out to MW for hooking me up).
Be warned, it doesn't look like all that powerful until you've been sucked into the mass of "dessert, motivational-quote, food and drinks, DIY crafter, with the splash of fitness" filled pictures hook you and you're like, "Holy Sh!t, I've just spend 2 hours looking at endless pages of things I wish I did or someday hope to do." (Thank goodness my children are in bed asleep and didn't need actual attention)
So, there you have it....I'm a Pinterest Junkie.....who's with me!!!!!!
Be warned, it doesn't look like all that powerful until you've been sucked into the mass of "dessert, motivational-quote, food and drinks, DIY crafter, with the splash of fitness" filled pictures hook you and you're like, "Holy Sh!t, I've just spend 2 hours looking at endless pages of things I wish I did or someday hope to do." (Thank goodness my children are in bed asleep and didn't need actual attention)
So, there you have it....I'm a Pinterest Junkie.....who's with me!!!!!!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Why Does It Matter........
Okay, I try to steer clear of "touchy" subjects, but I've seen this video a few times via Facebook and I got all teary-eyed watching it.
Why should I care? I honestly don't understand why after centuries of knowledge humans have acquired we are still treating people this way, letting them believe they are less than and it is appalling.
When will we learn, when will we truly be able to accept someone simply for who they are? And like most nights, I watched it, shared it, and went to bed.
Yet, as I was laying there, I couldn't shake the video and was reminded of my family members who are gay, and their struggles with "coming out." And then I thought of how my grandfather was treated as a child because of his skin and being told not to speak Te Reo Maori and how those influences transpired to his own children and their feelings, how they were treated.
One of my "aha" moments comes from when I was a child, visiting my great nanny and earlier we went shopping for dolls and I picked the brown doll because it reminded me of my great nanny and I thought the doll was beautiful, when I showed the doll to her and said it reminded me of her. She hugged me and said, "you don't want this doll with dark skin, your skin is lovely and don't let the sun darken you...always wear a sunhat." I didn't understand what she meant, but I realized that there was something different between the white doll and the brown doll, it was only until later that I realized she herself was brought up to be ashamed of her skin.
Discrimination is discrimination no matter how politicians, society, government, or religious groups try to sugar coat it....and to say it is not is baffling. I simply don't get it, I don't understand how anyone can see that it is not or how they justify it. And what is even more frustrating is that these people are most likely passing their views on to their children. I have friends of all nationalities, backgrounds, and religious affiliations, I don't pass judgement on their views, but I don't understand how some can use the argument that God didn't intend for gay people, only straight people (I mean really, you know this because you were there at creation, just like dinosaurs didn't exist either) and it's because the Bible told me so, well the Bible was transcribe by man to control the masses, and history shows that there are many versions, so who is to say what was really intended....
I get angry when I see signs like "God hates Fags" that mostly come from the Westboro Church people....I mean I'm not the most religious person, but I definitely believe in a higher spirit and I was told to "do unto others as you would have done to you." So, I find all of this hate mongering unbelievable, I mean seriously, do you want to be treated that way....I'm guessing not, so get a clue and take a lesson on karma.
And the biggest of all reasons I support gay rights, is simply for my children - I am no fortune teller, so I can't exactly predict my children's future partner, but I want them to see and hear from me that it is not okay to discriminate or treat people unfairly. And they will only learn this by seeing and watching their surroundings.
No person should be made to feel inferior, it makes my heart break when I hear on the news of some young teenager who took his/her life because they were "gay," I instantly think...what if that were my child and I think, did that child have the support of his/her parents, would it have made a difference? So, yes I'm trying to raise my little ones with love and respect, so years from now if God intends that either of my children were to "come out" they know it wouldn't affect how I love them or treat them. I think of the many people who struggle with the decision to "come out" or not and I honestly can't imagine how he/she must feel, especially when the world basically says, "It's not okay."
It is okay and I say that with as much conviction as those who say, "no, it's wrong," they are the ones who don't see life's bigger picture. It is not about how much you love God, pass judgements on others, and condemn everyone else who doesn't believe or follow your rules, because the beauty of God is that he gave us free will - so at the end of the day, it is our decisions that we have to justify, not using "God" as a tool to base their decisions. We are all human that deserve to be treated with kindness, respect, and the dignity that we all deserve. Ask yourself, "Are my hands clean" the next time you judge someone.
"Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one." - John Lennon
Why should I care? I honestly don't understand why after centuries of knowledge humans have acquired we are still treating people this way, letting them believe they are less than and it is appalling.
When will we learn, when will we truly be able to accept someone simply for who they are? And like most nights, I watched it, shared it, and went to bed.
Yet, as I was laying there, I couldn't shake the video and was reminded of my family members who are gay, and their struggles with "coming out." And then I thought of how my grandfather was treated as a child because of his skin and being told not to speak Te Reo Maori and how those influences transpired to his own children and their feelings, how they were treated.
One of my "aha" moments comes from when I was a child, visiting my great nanny and earlier we went shopping for dolls and I picked the brown doll because it reminded me of my great nanny and I thought the doll was beautiful, when I showed the doll to her and said it reminded me of her. She hugged me and said, "you don't want this doll with dark skin, your skin is lovely and don't let the sun darken you...always wear a sunhat." I didn't understand what she meant, but I realized that there was something different between the white doll and the brown doll, it was only until later that I realized she herself was brought up to be ashamed of her skin.
Discrimination is discrimination no matter how politicians, society, government, or religious groups try to sugar coat it....and to say it is not is baffling. I simply don't get it, I don't understand how anyone can see that it is not or how they justify it. And what is even more frustrating is that these people are most likely passing their views on to their children. I have friends of all nationalities, backgrounds, and religious affiliations, I don't pass judgement on their views, but I don't understand how some can use the argument that God didn't intend for gay people, only straight people (I mean really, you know this because you were there at creation, just like dinosaurs didn't exist either) and it's because the Bible told me so, well the Bible was transcribe by man to control the masses, and history shows that there are many versions, so who is to say what was really intended....
I get angry when I see signs like "God hates Fags" that mostly come from the Westboro Church people....I mean I'm not the most religious person, but I definitely believe in a higher spirit and I was told to "do unto others as you would have done to you." So, I find all of this hate mongering unbelievable, I mean seriously, do you want to be treated that way....I'm guessing not, so get a clue and take a lesson on karma.
And the biggest of all reasons I support gay rights, is simply for my children - I am no fortune teller, so I can't exactly predict my children's future partner, but I want them to see and hear from me that it is not okay to discriminate or treat people unfairly. And they will only learn this by seeing and watching their surroundings.
No person should be made to feel inferior, it makes my heart break when I hear on the news of some young teenager who took his/her life because they were "gay," I instantly think...what if that were my child and I think, did that child have the support of his/her parents, would it have made a difference? So, yes I'm trying to raise my little ones with love and respect, so years from now if God intends that either of my children were to "come out" they know it wouldn't affect how I love them or treat them. I think of the many people who struggle with the decision to "come out" or not and I honestly can't imagine how he/she must feel, especially when the world basically says, "It's not okay."
It is okay and I say that with as much conviction as those who say, "no, it's wrong," they are the ones who don't see life's bigger picture. It is not about how much you love God, pass judgements on others, and condemn everyone else who doesn't believe or follow your rules, because the beauty of God is that he gave us free will - so at the end of the day, it is our decisions that we have to justify, not using "God" as a tool to base their decisions. We are all human that deserve to be treated with kindness, respect, and the dignity that we all deserve. Ask yourself, "Are my hands clean" the next time you judge someone.
"Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one." - John Lennon
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Yummy Soups....
I recently made two different soups, both of which were super easy to make and most importantly delicious! I'll share the recipes here, I didn't take any photos, but these were good and have now made it into my collection of recipes.
Italian Gnocchi Soup
1 lb Italian Sausage (I used ground graziano italian sausage)
2 cup water
1 16 oz gnocchi
1 14 oz beef broth
1 can of cannellini beans
1 14 oz italian style stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
In a large pot, brown italian sausage (I like to add some white wine when cooking italian sausage and I also used a variety of spices, such as oregano, basil, garlic, rosemary). Once sausage is done, add 2 cup water, broth, gnocchi, tomatoes, cannellini, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat till gnocchi floats - pour into bowls and sprinkle cheese on top. Serve immediately. I typically serve this with focaccia bread, you'll be surprised at how great this soup is.
African Chicken Peanut Stew
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves*
*(I cooked a whole chicken the night before and used the shredded chicken from the chicken for the soup, which I also used the chicken stock from boiling the chicken instead of browning it in a skillet)
1 onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups sliced carrots
4 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup brown rice
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
Either brown the chicken in a skillet or you can do what I did, which was cook a whole chicken the night before and used the shredded chicken from the chicken for the soup, transfer the chicken into the slow cooker. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic.
Stir the crushed tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, chicken broth (I saved the chicken stock from the night before), curry powder, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and black pepper into the slow cooker.
Set the cooker to High, and cook for 5 to 6 hours, or cook on Low for 10 hours. Stir in additional chicken broth throughout the cooking time if needed.
Mix in the brown rice 3 hours before serving, and mix in the peanut butter at least 1 hour before serving. Shred chicken meat (if you haven't shredded it) and serve hot. I also like to make some additional rice that I don't put in the crockpot to serve with.
The aroma of this dish is wonderful and all the medley of spices and peanut putter go together well.
"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." ~Voltaire
Italian Gnocchi Soup
1 lb Italian Sausage (I used ground graziano italian sausage)
2 cup water
1 16 oz gnocchi
1 14 oz beef broth
1 can of cannellini beans
1 14 oz italian style stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
In a large pot, brown italian sausage (I like to add some white wine when cooking italian sausage and I also used a variety of spices, such as oregano, basil, garlic, rosemary). Once sausage is done, add 2 cup water, broth, gnocchi, tomatoes, cannellini, and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat till gnocchi floats - pour into bowls and sprinkle cheese on top. Serve immediately. I typically serve this with focaccia bread, you'll be surprised at how great this soup is.
African Chicken Peanut Stew
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves*
*(I cooked a whole chicken the night before and used the shredded chicken from the chicken for the soup, which I also used the chicken stock from boiling the chicken instead of browning it in a skillet)
1 onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups sliced carrots
4 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup brown rice
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
Either brown the chicken in a skillet or you can do what I did, which was cook a whole chicken the night before and used the shredded chicken from the chicken for the soup, transfer the chicken into the slow cooker. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic.
Stir the crushed tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, chicken broth (I saved the chicken stock from the night before), curry powder, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and black pepper into the slow cooker.
Set the cooker to High, and cook for 5 to 6 hours, or cook on Low for 10 hours. Stir in additional chicken broth throughout the cooking time if needed.
Mix in the brown rice 3 hours before serving, and mix in the peanut butter at least 1 hour before serving. Shred chicken meat (if you haven't shredded it) and serve hot. I also like to make some additional rice that I don't put in the crockpot to serve with.
The aroma of this dish is wonderful and all the medley of spices and peanut putter go together well.
"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." ~Voltaire
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