We all have our apple pie. That thing that we want to do and just never attempt for one reason or another. It might even be silly to not do the thing we want to try. I made two babies. I jumped out of a plane. I grew up in the Bronx. Yet, there are things that for one reason or another intimidate me...and they don't always make sense. So with all of the cooking, baking and creating I have done through the years I have dodged the homemade crust and juicy filling of an apple pie. I know a few of you are yelling, "NO WAY?!?!". I apologize oh foodie cousin, niece and a few others.
Earlier this afternoon the pate brisee was made and put in the fridge to chill. This evening the apples were sliced...the very ones that were picked last weekend in the beautiful Hudson Valley. A pie was then assembled complete with a little apple and leaf design on top. I am smelling it now as it bakes for the last moment or so....be right back!
The pie is out of the oven! It is beautiful and golden and bubbling. I want to dig in and eat it but it is coming on midnight and it needs to cool for hours. It will be there tomorrow waiting to say good morning as it sits on the counter. I was even sure to get vanilla ice cream should someone want the perfect accompaniment. The house smells divine and I wonder if we will all dream about desserts tonight. Tonight we will dream and tomorrow we shall dine on a fresh yummy pie on a chilly fall day.
Do YOU have an "apple pie"? What is holding you back from doing it? I have to tell you that I just did a little dance all by myself in the kitchen at nearly midnight. It is always so much more than just the task...it is the success as the reward for letting go of a fear. Fear can be tiny or huge. What can be a regular thing to one person might be completely foreign to another...so there is no need to judge. I am already thinking of the designs I can make in future crusts or the countless fillings that can be used....guess it's not such a fear after all. Poof. This DO the NEW has done wonders!
Face a little fear and conquer it...it will give you strength for the bigger ones. Go find your apple pie and show it who's boss!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Take a pic of Em-pie and E-dog
I live practically on the border of the Delaware Water Gap. I get to pass the cutest little Village Farmer Bakery almost daily. I have had many a pie from them. They also have a great little special with a hot dog and a piece of pie. Oh, and a wooden stand with holes for your head to transform two people into a hot dog and a piece of pie with the words "True Love". I have gone by it, eaten there and purchased many a pie...each time promising to post a pic. Today I pulled over on the way home from picking up the kiddies and took a shot. I did not get a pie...
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Lifeclass Webcast
Tonight I did double duty and watched the life class as well as the follow up webcast. I have to say that a huge part of me was fearful of making it my new thing. I was worried about the judgement of it all. Last night I was so worried that I even joked about you groaning as you read my post. Then I realized I had to make it my new thing because it would overcome the need for approval. Today was a big day. I had an hour of serious counseling followed up by an hour of introspection. I dealt with the table full of bills. I reached out to two dear people who helped me with their love and support. I was also pleasantly surprised by who did the supporting. I had asked the universe for a new support and bam...I got one in the most interesting place. The theme of the morning was about believing in myself. Finding myself. Not dulling my shine for the benefit of others. This webcast was the icing on the cake I have been baking all day.
Here are some bits of brilliance:
* 95% of what we believe as adults comes from our childhood around the age of 5 or 6. (Be careful with your little ones...what you teach them now will form the adult they become!)
*When you know who you are then you don't care what people think.
*Our thoughts are our energy. Our themes and patterns run our lives. What you say to yourself all day is a link to our habitual behavior.
*You don't become what you want...you become what you believe.
*Every relationship we are in teaches us the next lesson. Every job. Everything.
*Anger is the result of a trigger that brings up the feeling that comes from childhood. (Maybe we should all think about what makes us angry!)
*Affirmation + action = miracles
*Get quiet and spend some time with yourself to hear the true voice of what we are supposed to do.
*Making yourself small doesn't help other people. (I need to say this over and over!)
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us." Marianne Williamson
Here are some bits of brilliance:
* 95% of what we believe as adults comes from our childhood around the age of 5 or 6. (Be careful with your little ones...what you teach them now will form the adult they become!)
*When you know who you are then you don't care what people think.
*Our thoughts are our energy. Our themes and patterns run our lives. What you say to yourself all day is a link to our habitual behavior.
*You don't become what you want...you become what you believe.
*Every relationship we are in teaches us the next lesson. Every job. Everything.
*Anger is the result of a trigger that brings up the feeling that comes from childhood. (Maybe we should all think about what makes us angry!)
*Affirmation + action = miracles
*Get quiet and spend some time with yourself to hear the true voice of what we are supposed to do.
*Making yourself small doesn't help other people. (I need to say this over and over!)
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us." Marianne Williamson
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Oprah's Lifeclass
Oprah is back. I can hear the groans now. I don't care though. Years ago she got me to pick up A New Earth and it began a shift in me like no other. I read it. I followed the webcasts. I started to make changes. She mentioned more than once that you need to read certain parts over and over to really get them. It's been years now since I've read it. It changed my life. I thought that was it. I had no idea that it was just a sample of the changes I would be experiencing. It was the appetizer for the huge seven course meal I was about to devour.
I am ten months into the challenge of the daily new thing. I thank this challenge on a daily basis for helping me to strive to be better, to do more, to keep going. Some days might seem simple but it is usually in those days I have done something very complicated. The days where the new thing is "hard" is because I have made it my main focus. Some days I just need something to keep me from falling apart. Yesterday I set the dvr to record Oprah and her new show. But by late tonight I knew I needed to watch it. It is one of the hardest days yet and no new restaurant, craft project or recipe will fix it. I needed to go back to the beginning of the movement. She just happened to be right back there, too. The universe works that way if you are open to it.
So it's nearly midnight and I've just been reminded about the basics of Tolle. The ego needs to be recognized in order to take away its power. I had been spending all day asking, "Why ME?!?". That was the ego popping up again after a very long time of keeping him caged up and hungry. I've gotten quite good at seeing things very differently....but he gets us when we are tired, weary and broken down. The show reminded me about some key points. Stuff isn't who we are. When we do for others in order to get something back...it is the ego. It will lead to resentment. It's ok when others have an opinion because we are the ones who decide to give it power or not. She even talked about being a certain weight and how if you are bigger it puts people at ease which then makes them comfortable with you...which then gives you their approval. So many things I really needed to hear today more than any other day in months. This battle to be more than I've been... feels like boot camp, a full-time job, labor and everything else that is hard. It is relentless if you are doing it right. I'm up for the fight but tonight I needed the support. Earlier, in my other blog I wrote of "aha moments". It was way before I saw the show...in fact I started that post a while back but never posted it until today. I didn't even know Oprah had a new show starting up until just yesterday. An aha for an aha has to be worth some special Oprah bonus points, right?!? It is now midnight and I puffy eyed girl needs to get some sleep. I apologize if some of this doesn't make sense. I apologize if you hate Oprah. But since my ego is in check I won't be offended...see it's working already!!!
I am ten months into the challenge of the daily new thing. I thank this challenge on a daily basis for helping me to strive to be better, to do more, to keep going. Some days might seem simple but it is usually in those days I have done something very complicated. The days where the new thing is "hard" is because I have made it my main focus. Some days I just need something to keep me from falling apart. Yesterday I set the dvr to record Oprah and her new show. But by late tonight I knew I needed to watch it. It is one of the hardest days yet and no new restaurant, craft project or recipe will fix it. I needed to go back to the beginning of the movement. She just happened to be right back there, too. The universe works that way if you are open to it.
So it's nearly midnight and I've just been reminded about the basics of Tolle. The ego needs to be recognized in order to take away its power. I had been spending all day asking, "Why ME?!?". That was the ego popping up again after a very long time of keeping him caged up and hungry. I've gotten quite good at seeing things very differently....but he gets us when we are tired, weary and broken down. The show reminded me about some key points. Stuff isn't who we are. When we do for others in order to get something back...it is the ego. It will lead to resentment. It's ok when others have an opinion because we are the ones who decide to give it power or not. She even talked about being a certain weight and how if you are bigger it puts people at ease which then makes them comfortable with you...which then gives you their approval. So many things I really needed to hear today more than any other day in months. This battle to be more than I've been... feels like boot camp, a full-time job, labor and everything else that is hard. It is relentless if you are doing it right. I'm up for the fight but tonight I needed the support. Earlier, in my other blog I wrote of "aha moments". It was way before I saw the show...in fact I started that post a while back but never posted it until today. I didn't even know Oprah had a new show starting up until just yesterday. An aha for an aha has to be worth some special Oprah bonus points, right?!? It is now midnight and I puffy eyed girl needs to get some sleep. I apologize if some of this doesn't make sense. I apologize if you hate Oprah. But since my ego is in check I won't be offended...see it's working already!!!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Columbus Day at Cici's...let me explain!
Years ago Columbus Day meant wearing red and eating homemade Italian...or at least going somewhere good. Sometimes we went to the parade down in Jersey and everything. The last few years while I was home it meant a big meal of yummy favorites. This year was different. It helps me explain this sandwich generation thing once again though for those of you who have missed it. I spend my time describing the new thing that I have to do each day but don't forget that it is somewhere between the necessary and the to do list.
Last week was tricky with big school projects and more work related tasks. Today was some catch up. Lots of chores and tasks...laundry and cleaning...practicing instruments..etc. But it was also the holiday and I can't just let them go. No red was worn this year. In fact, I didn't even think of it. What we did was lots of what needed to be done both for our chore chart and our sanity.
We started out the day with breakfast at our favorite little diner with two of our favorite girls...Jenne and Greta. Afterwards, we did things like detail the interior of the car, sort laundry into five piles, start the wash, dishes and vacuuming. Emily had not one...but two instruments to catch up on. Fun days here make for more work there. Mixed in between the work there was snuggling to watch Ellen, paper airplanes with Pop and a little baseball in the yard but by 3pm I felt that urge to "do it all for everyone" kicking in. The sandwich that I talk of has many layers. To the park we went. Pop Pop can watch the kids play...the kids get sunshine and exercise...win, win, win. Somewhere before the dog park, more laundry and a moved piano lesson we needed dinner. Favorite pizza joint numero uno...was closed. (As was the other one...shhhh, don't tell numero uno we have a back up.) So out came the words, "Let's try the new Cici's!".
Salad, soup, pasta, pizza and desserts for cheap. Sure I might never need to go back and TUMS will be my friend for the night but sometimes we have to do what we have to do. It's the sandwich. The sandwich is simple some days like a pb&j but other days it is a complicated fancy shmancy sandwich that takes work. Somewhere in between the mayo, meat and cheese...I have to find a new thing to inspire me to keep going, a safe thing to recharge my soul and a happy thing to make me do it all over again tomorrow. And sometimes you just need to fill up on bad food that reminds you why you cook most nights! So just for today the ships were the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria and the Cici!
Last week was tricky with big school projects and more work related tasks. Today was some catch up. Lots of chores and tasks...laundry and cleaning...practicing instruments..etc. But it was also the holiday and I can't just let them go. No red was worn this year. In fact, I didn't even think of it. What we did was lots of what needed to be done both for our chore chart and our sanity.
We started out the day with breakfast at our favorite little diner with two of our favorite girls...Jenne and Greta. Afterwards, we did things like detail the interior of the car, sort laundry into five piles, start the wash, dishes and vacuuming. Emily had not one...but two instruments to catch up on. Fun days here make for more work there. Mixed in between the work there was snuggling to watch Ellen, paper airplanes with Pop and a little baseball in the yard but by 3pm I felt that urge to "do it all for everyone" kicking in. The sandwich that I talk of has many layers. To the park we went. Pop Pop can watch the kids play...the kids get sunshine and exercise...win, win, win. Somewhere before the dog park, more laundry and a moved piano lesson we needed dinner. Favorite pizza joint numero uno...was closed. (As was the other one...shhhh, don't tell numero uno we have a back up.) So out came the words, "Let's try the new Cici's!".
Salad, soup, pasta, pizza and desserts for cheap. Sure I might never need to go back and TUMS will be my friend for the night but sometimes we have to do what we have to do. It's the sandwich. The sandwich is simple some days like a pb&j but other days it is a complicated fancy shmancy sandwich that takes work. Somewhere in between the mayo, meat and cheese...I have to find a new thing to inspire me to keep going, a safe thing to recharge my soul and a happy thing to make me do it all over again tomorrow. And sometimes you just need to fill up on bad food that reminds you why you cook most nights! So just for today the ships were the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria and the Cici!
Apple Picking
As a kid there were certain things my Mom did not find the need for. It was absolutely forbidden to play in the fire hydrant (aka johnny pump, fireplug) because we had a pool in our very own backyard. We also had a big gorgeous apple tree that grew outside my bedroom window. We ate them as they ripened and fell off. We then collected the big batch in the autumn and made applesauce. It was as sweet and wonderful as the childhood memory. I just recently figured out that it is also the reason we probably never went apple picking. Why bother? With all that we used to do why tie up a day?
All of these years later I have never been picking. I've plucked pumpkins from a patch, picked blueberries in Rhode Island and found just the right flowers and veggies at the farm...but go to an orchard and find the right apples...never. Until today.
We drove all the way to Lawrence Farms in Newburgh, NY. It was 85 and sunny. More beach weather than fall....but we carried on with a wagon and some bags and gathered our fruit anyway. 10 or so types of apples later...though we aren't sure which is which...we are ready for lots of apple recipes to follow this week. The day was completed with a lovely dinner with the McCauley Family...thanks so much for sharing in my new thing! Last year corn, this year apples...what will next autumn have in store?!?
All of these years later I have never been picking. I've plucked pumpkins from a patch, picked blueberries in Rhode Island and found just the right flowers and veggies at the farm...but go to an orchard and find the right apples...never. Until today.
We drove all the way to Lawrence Farms in Newburgh, NY. It was 85 and sunny. More beach weather than fall....but we carried on with a wagon and some bags and gathered our fruit anyway. 10 or so types of apples later...though we aren't sure which is which...we are ready for lots of apple recipes to follow this week. The day was completed with a lovely dinner with the McCauley Family...thanks so much for sharing in my new thing! Last year corn, this year apples...what will next autumn have in store?!?
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Jacobsburg Hike
I am typically the type of person who lives in a place and drinks in all the place has to offer. I'm not sure how I've lived here all of this time and missed out on this little chunk of paradise. Today I took a ninety minute hike around Jacobsburg. I didn't exactly stay on the trail that I intended to but it worked out alright. The views were breathtaking and the temperature was lovely. It felt like a trip to far away even though it wasn't. I was grateful for the sunshine and look forward to going again someday!
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