Raige Creations

I shouldn't feel lazy, right? I shouldn't give myself a hard time for my unproductive behavior. I keep telling myself this, but we are our own worst critics, aren't we? We all are going through strange times. Our lives have abruptly changed. There is stress, worry, anxiety, and rules. Harsh rules. I am not allowed out and about from 7pm to 5am every day. Only from 5 am to 7 pm can we venture out. And even then there are further restrictions. Sundays I am not allowed to leave my yard at all. I am allowed to leave my house to exercise for 90 minutes daily during the hours mentioned above - except Sundays. I am allowed to go to the grocery store, gas station, or liquor store { yes they are essential apparently } only on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. They split the alphabet and the first half can go those days, the 2nd half can go the other day, you have to show your ID to get in the store. I will be arrested or fined if I break any of these rules. I am working...

Wow. I haven't really had a lazy weekend like this one in ages. The weather took a turn, and we have had stormy and chilly weather. Not like the East Cost of the US chilly, but darn chilly for a tropical island. And it has really sapped the motivation. You would think I would be all - "It is perfect wogging weather! I am so getting out there to wog!!"  But nope. Nothing. I glance at the shoes, that is it. I guess it is good to just be lazy some weekends. And when it is rainy and gray and cool, it is quite nice to stay cuddled up on the couch under a blanket.  I even relaxed enough to have this dream, a dream that I remember, and had a content hopeful feeling to it!  It was a running dream. I have them somtimes, particularly when I haven't been running or wogging. So the dream goes: I go for a run. And I am running down some street or up some hill, breathing  heavy and everything. Feels Like I am really running, except I always feel great and fast in my drea...

After a very active morning (a few weeks ago now...) - a 3 mile mostly walk with little jogs mixed in, 15 minute morning yoga routine, and a 30 minute yoga workshop (to help me step through Down Dog , which I can't do very well) - I sat there on my yoga mat deeply thinking. Thinking, " I am calm, it is a beautiful day really, and oh - a donut hole would be good!" and then I shared my desire for doughnut holes after all that good-for-me activity. I was struck first that I wanted to share such a thing. With whom, exactly, do I want to share these accomplishments mixed with signs of weakness? Facebook?? Really??? No, not really. I realized. I have purged my Facebook friends to mostly real friends and famlily (even if it is distant cousins I haven't seen since I was a kid and friends of whom some I haven't seen since High School, and creative friends that I have not met in person but feel a closeness with via venues like Facebook {which initself is quite stra...

I got to sleep in a little today, a nice Sunday, perfect for staying in bed a little long, just because. I got up a little after 7am, but I was feeling very guilty about not getting up earlier to go for a run/walk, or Wog (walk/jog) as I now like to call it. I was a little groggy, but got on my running gear, decided that coffee after the run would be better than before the run, got my Tom Tom Runner searching for a satellite, and turned the ipod on and headed out.  Photo By Charlesjsharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0,   The ' Go! ' beep went off on the Tom Tom  , so I started walking. Got on the road and I heard this banging on metal. Strange, but then I saw the culprit. A woodpecker , probably the one I saw in the Almond tree yesterday, was searching for food in the gutters. Cool. I decided to start to run, and after a little trouble getting going with all the thoughts going on in my head - the questioning o...

I commented to hubby this morning, "there is nothing better than having coffee with you, out here, on a Sunday morning". "Bee Happy" photo courtesy of Raige Creations. I totally felt that, right then, in the moment. I was truly enjoying my slightly sweetened and slightly creamy coffee, after a very good 3.1 mile run (I went past our place to get over the 3 mile mark....yes I was that runner today), and just relishing the moment (even tho hubby was trying to talk politics....my least favorite subject). I feel I should add - this was all before 8am! I just realized at that moment, I was thankful for the slow Sunday we were enjoying. You might say, "SLOW? you call getting up before 6am and running 3 miles slow?" And to that I say, "YES!!" I could get out of bed at my leisure, not because I HAD to at that moment. I got to go for that run, and witness a most beautiful sunrise, and watch an older gentleman line-fishing off shore in the fo...

Photo Courtesy of Raige Tea, those deliciously 'evil' hazelnut and chocolate sticks, and the chili stirring spoon makes for a lovely Sunday. It means all the chores were done by the time football starts. The laundry folded and put away, the dinner prepped (just stirring intermittenly throughout the afternoon), showered and in Sunday comfy clothes.  You might not understand the big deal of the Pirouline's  . These, once upon a time way back when we were a younger family who was content with enough to be able to treat ourselves with yummy treats and the time for tea, were our favorite. A very fancy to us, decadent treat we allowed ourselves when times were good financially. When we took the time to enjoy tea, sweets, and each other.  We then hit tougher times, busier times. We were working harder, for less rewards. We cut back, we skimped, we scraped by. No chocolate hazelnut goodness. No tea time.  Years went by living under these circumstances. We accepted...

Not much more to say about it really. As we all feel different about a good rainy afternoon turned night downpour. But tonight, the last night of my vacation, I couldn't have asked for a better day. It is the perfect day to be home, a rainy day. Found on Pinterest I didn't really accomplish all I wanted. But I did make chili, been simmering alllllll day. And I made some marinated conch, actually a time consuming dish only that it takes great care and time to cut up the tough conch. I all did this before lunch, and then have been enjoying intermitten naps with the smell of chocolate chip cookies my friend made this afternoon. Imagine this: dinner simmering, delish appetizer to snack on all day, rain and naps to smells of chocolate chip cookies. Sounds like a dream day, right? Something we would ache for on most days. Honestly, this was a totally unplanned chain of events that has made this the day we all promise to have every now and then. And that is what makes it all ...

Wow, it has been over a week since I have written. The week actually flew past. I did try to write, but every time I tried, my head went completely silent. It was not as though it was empty. It was full. It was racing.  It was contemplating and figuring and planning. But it had nothing to write. When I tried to type, my mind went silent. There was nothing I could put to words on the screen. (I wanted to say words on paper, but that is not the way anymore is it?) The words were gone, my mind could not speak in writing anymore. It could only contemplate, figure, and plan. That was my week. A head full of things, yet nothing to write. This coming week, however, I already have Music Monday planned (though not yet written), and things I could post for other days too. I think my head will have an easier time of writing this coming week, it has already been thinking in writing , and I have been able to get through this post rather easily. The week 'off' from writin...

My daughter had been asking for meatloaf for days (!), as we all get so tired of the same old meals, and we hadn't had meatloaf in forever! So meatloaf it was. (I just said meatloaf way too many times.....) As you know, hubby can't have any dairy, so milk was not an option. So here the easiest, milk free, recipe for a great meatloaf. Ingredients: 2 lbs Meat - I used a mixture of ground chicken and ground pork 4 Green Onions - or one regular would do just fine 1 heaping tsp Garlic - I used jarred, but fresh or powdered is fine Ketchup - a squirt - then about 1/4 cup for topping 2 tsp Pickapepper Sauce - then 2 tsp more for topping 1 Egg 1/4 cup Breadcrumbs Salt and Pepper Dried Basil and Parsley to taste Crushed Red Pepper to taste Olive Oil cooking spray Instructions: One reason I love meatloaf is that it is so easy! Just throw everything in the bowl and mix. That is basically it. But I took pictures so you can see the progression. Slice the green onions...

source: Tea Time With Tess Oh yes, last night, Saturday night, was awesome!  I had a great day, first of all. I did a, ' get it off my chest' kind of  blog , which was so fun to do, and actually quite therapeutic. Then hubby and me went to an auction for the most fun shopping ever. Yes, you still experience buyers remorse, but at least you beat out that guy in the front who really wanted it! "One dollar bid, now two, now two, will ya' give me two? Two dollar bid, now three, now three, will ya' give me three?", "Going once, going twice, sold!" Then we came home looking forward to a nice evening with the kids, who, by the way, cooked us an awesome 'breakfast for dinner' dinner. (I love my kids, if you haven't heard me say if before....) The next thing I remember is waking up off the couch, mouth completely dry from apparently drooling all over a couch pillow, and mumbling something like 'Em goin ta bed' and stumbl...

Second full day at home, doing home things, and I love it! I am much more relaxed today, in leggings and a big-ass old stained sweatshirt, and my fuzzy socks .  It is amazing what 2 days in a row off can do. For one, I got back to running. I took 2 days off this week, and could run more today than the last workout. Plus, I still have 5 days working out for the week.  Rest is good! Still 5 days on the calendar for the week! photo courtesy of Raige Creations (This is what I want my calendar to look like most of the time, between 4 and 5 workouts, walking or running, each week.) Believe it or not, this run today WAS relaxing for me today. There was no rushing, nothing plaguing my mind that I had to get done today (except for dinner, which I thankfully already have planned as Chicken and Noodles! recipe here ). Oh, and getting a blog in today for NaBloWriMo , still keeping with that goal of making writing more a part of my life. Today, my run could be as fast ...

"Serendipitous Timing" Uttered to me today by a wonderful new person I met. Before I jinx anything, I will just say a few things. All my worry last night , lack of sleep, and stress about getting everything done, led to a huge relief of sorts. After some driving around and few phone calls, I made the best phone call which made the end of my day rather pleasant. photo courtesy of photobucket Of course, lots of prep, planning, organizing, logistical figuring was figured into the day. Working to achieve a smooth transition out of one location is not an easy thing.  But if all goes well, this wonderful new person will be saving me from dread and unpleasantness beyond what I could handle at this point. AND, as it turns out, I will be helping her in a way she didn't anticipate happening at this time, yet wanted to. I am bringing her closer to a goal she has had, she is bringing me close to a goal I have. Serendipitous. We met not quite by chance, as most serendipi...

Though I didn't get to blogging during the week, it was one full of recovering (working over 30 hrs in 3 days with the Bele Chere Festival going on) , planning, month end close and working. Today it occurred to me that I really should take at least one day, or even just part of the day, to enjoy the simple pleasures. Although life changes, and there are difficult times, it is these simple pleasure that remind us what is important.  Yes, I have mentioned before enjoying the small things , taking notice of the beautiful life around us.  But today it occurred to me, as I am working and planning some more, that I really need to enjoy the simple pleasures much more than I have been. The stresses have taken a much larger part of my existence, and the pleasures have been too few and too far between. It is easy to let these things fall by the wayside. We are busy, we are stressed, we have deadlines, bills to pay, work to do, kids to worry about, house to clean. The days go by...

That is it. Sometimes, just sunshine is enough to make the day great. Add to that 3 days of 2 + miles each day now, and life is pretty good. I thank the return of sunshine for this. Sunshine makes it glow! Yes, simply the sun. Even tho it's January, and the cold has set in, the sun was enough. I don't mind the cold, as long as the sun is out. Seeing what it did to this sculpture, I knew the sun has a profound affect on everyone.  I see people milling about downtown, find that visitors are in fact in Asheville enjoying the mountains in the winter.  They come out when the sun does, walk slower, look around more, bask in the sun basically. Ominous in the grey rain. The sun brings brilliant light, uplifts the mood, and gives a nice golden glow to things we see every day and have blended in with the background.  It had rained for 4 days straight, almost non stop. I gladly took 2 of those days to enjoy the cloudy greyness, but by the 4th day I was more than ready...