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The Importance of Kindness

December 17th, 2011

LeeAnn

Kindness is extremely important to me.

It is the trait that I most admire in people. My husband’s kindness was what first attracted me to him.

It is how I want to be treated by others. Ironically, I think people being unkind to me at various times has made me a kinder person. For the most part, I have been very fortunate to have kind people in my life.

It is a characteristic that I strive to achieve. I am not always successful. In my self-improvement journey of the past few years, I have worked to become more kind to myself. I have also become committed to be more proactively kind, not just reactively kind, to others.

The older I get, I have noticed that kindness has a more profound effect on me. Maybe it is that I am more aware of it and open to it than I have ever been. To me, seeing kindness is joyful; it is gentle; it can be life changing. Receiving kindness can move me to tears.

Last week, I was the recipient of kindnesses that overwhelmed me. And again I realized how tremendous the effect can be; kindness can change your mood, the way you feel about yourself, the way you treat others, and the way others then treat others.

I had a morning meeting last Friday and was unable to attend my normal early morning yoga class. Instead, I decided to go to a class at 9:30. As soon as I walked into the room, I felt like it was the first day of school and I had just moved into town (been there, done that). None of my friends from the morning class were there. The room was quickly becoming packed. Instead of my normal front row space, I took a space in the back row, in the corner. I sat there and watched as people came into class. To me, it seemed like they were all younger, blonde, fitter, tanner and more attractive – and, of course, more accomplished at yoga. I was setting myself up for a terrible practice and was completely in my head, and not on my mat.

Someone put their mat down next to me and I looked up and saw that it was my beloved instructor from my morning class. She greeted me with her normal infectious enthusiasm and the class started. We were all very close to one another. As we got to the balance poses and had to extend our legs out to the side, my leg was over my neighbor’s (my instructor from the morning class) mat and, basically, right in front of her. As I started to worry about sweating on her mat, I realized that her hand was on my leg, gently supporting it. That happened several more times. Once, when we were on the floor, our hands hit and before I could pull mine away, she grabbed it and squeezed it.

I cannot do justice to those actions with words. Maybe you had to be there, but it turned my practice from what was going to be one of my worst, to one of my best. Because of her gentleness, I was able to stop the destructive thinking and I left class with a more full heart.

The second kindness occurred later that same day.

I have been struggling with my blog lately. I am hoping it is because I am in year-end crunch at work and am more stressed and tired than I usually am. I have been fighting self doubts. The writing of others seems so much more sophisticated … important … timely … learned … and you get the idea. So I have given myself a break this month from my blog, with no pressure to post regularly.

On Friday afternoon, in between drafting documents for work, I rewarded myself by visiting my friend Robin’s blog. Reading Graceful Leadership is one of my favorite leisure activities. Robin writes about her beloved dog, Grace, and then ties Grace’s behavior, and Robin and Grace’s interactions, back to human relationships, and the management of people in the workplace. I learn from Robin and carry her messages with me. I feel so lucky to have gotten to know her through the blogging world; her gentleness and her love for animals is so evident.

As I made my way through Robin’s post that day, I was thrilled to see that she received a much deserved blogging award, and was then shocked to see that she turned around and gave the award to me. The award is called the Liebster Blog Award and, as Robin explained it, “the Liebster Blog Award is named after the German word, liebster, meaning dearest; hence the Liebster Blog Award means Dearest Blog Award. It is an award intended to recognize worthy, lesser known blogs and to help expose their work.”

For the second time that day, I was moved to tears. In both situations, it was almost as if the person sensed my particular insecurities, and reached out and reassured me through their incredible kindness. The high that I felt all weekend from these two women’s acts made me think so much about it and how I want to create those feelings in others. I am even more determined to do so. If we all made the effort to be more kind, imagine the impact on our world. It helps to first surround yourself with kind friends as I have apparently done.

Before I close my post, I have a responsibility to abide by the rules of the Liebster Blog Award, which are as follows: (1) thank the giver and link back to their blog (which I am honored to do); (2) reveal your top five picks, with less than 200 readers, and let them know; (3) copy and paste the award on your blog; and (4) hope that the person you give it to keeps the award moving forward.

Instead of five picks, I am going to limit myself to one blog to highlight. I became friends with Jill through her husband Brian, who so patiently and adeptly helped us to find our home in North Carolina. When Brian forwarded me the link to Jill’s blog, I knew that I had found a kindred spirit, at least in some ways. Jill is an incredibly talented artist, a talent which I envy but certainly do not possess. She and I do share a love for animals though. Her blog follows her beautiful life in the North Carolina mountains, which she and Brian share with three dogs, two horses, two miniature donkeys, a cat and various wild animal visitors (I hope I have that tally correct). It won’t take you long, though, to see who my true love in Jill’s life is; lets just say that Jill, Brian and I all have the same bulldog gene. Please enjoy Jill’s Life with me.

December 6th, 2011

LeeAnn

December is somewhat tortuous for me.

The type of law I practice (commercial finance) is extremely busy around year-end. Everyone, for various reasons, wants to get the deal closed before January 1st. While the poor economy has significantly slowed down the volume of my work (which is not necessarily a bad thing), there is still a year-end push.

Add to the work stress the normal holiday accoutrements such as gift buying and party going, and I get more than a little stressed. Shoppokâs great selection of unique and thoughtful gifts has been a lifesaver, making the holiday season a bit easier. As you may have noticed, my blog suffers – and will continue to do so for this month.

I know that I am not alone in this stress and that we all have different difficulties at this time of year – many much worse than mine. In the event that some might find it helpful, here are some tips of mine for surviving this season:

1. Be extremely organized. I make lists which combine work and personal tasks and am determined to cross several things off my list every day. I do most of my shopping on-line and I try to do it early enough that I do not have to pay the extra costs of expedited shipping, which can add up.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff – and remember that it is most often “small stuff.” I have caught myself stressing about what to wear to holiday parties several times. Does it really matter that you wear the same thing that you wore to the same party two years ago? NO.

3. Eat something before going to a holiday party. I actually did not follow this advice for my first holiday party of the season and paid for it dearly the next day. Being a vegetarian, there is often not food that I can eat at a party and so I end up just drinking – and even one drink on an empty stomach is dangerous (for me anyway). Even if your diet is not as restrictive, you are less likely to make bad food decisions if you are not starving.

4. Remember to be in the moment. Enjoy the family time and seasonal celebrations. Don’t be thinking about the items on your list when you are with family and friends.

5. It’s ok to be selfish about taking care of yourself. Get enough sleep. This is key for me always (and always a struggle), but this time of year it is essential. Also, it is very important to me and my mood that I maintain my yoga practice through this stressful month.

6. Make time for relaxed fun. I enjoy going to the movies with my husband. I cannot wait to see We Bought a Zoo. I will NOT be seeing War Horse. While it seems like it may end happily, the journey looks like a painful one. (Plus, in movies which are significantly centered around an animal, I end up worrying throughout the movie that the animal was not treated well in the filming process.)

I wish you all a happy and healthy December and thank you for your interest. Your support has been a highlight of 2011 for me.

See you in 2012!

November 24th, 2011

LeeAnn

I am so thankful for my many blessings – including my husband (we are celebrating our twelfth anniversary this weekend), my parents, my family (including my husband’s amazing family) and my incredible friends. Despite this, I have really struggled with this Thanksgiving post as I have friends and acquaintances who are alone and having difficulties this holiday season.

In searching for light-hearted ideas for this post, I looked through some old family photo albums, thinking that pictures of Thanksgivings past might help me. I came to an interesting realization that there are almost equal amounts of pictures of our childhood pets as there are of my brother and me. I love that – and am so grateful to my parents for raising me with that appreciation for animals.

So I dedicate this post to our loyal, loving, and faithful companions, both past and present. Before I show you how I was raised with animals, I invite you to watch the below video of an English bulldog protecting his baby, which was sent to me this week. It reminds me of how I was raised.

This picture of my brother as a tiny baby and Boomer, our first English Bulldog, pretty much captures the equal footing of people and pets in our family.

The second bulldog in the Williams family was Oliver. Oliver loved playing with my brother and lounging on with my dad.

Next came the Siamese cats. First was Kiki, who liked to eat wool socks. My mom asked the vet how to cure him of this and the vet suggested getting him a playmate. Enter Casper into the family, and my parents then had two cats that liked to eat wool socks. When my mom was pregnant with me, she used to wear jumpers with large arm-holes. She said that when she would sit down, Kiki would climb into her jumper through the arm-hole and lay on top of her pregnant belly. I often wonder if my love for cats started then – through the womb. Here is an early picture of me and Kiki:

My grandparents had a beloved Boxer named Biffy, who was my mom’s constant companion when she was a teenager. Biffy was amazing and was quite old by the time I came around – and he became fiercely protective. I love this picture of me with my grandfather and Biffy. Like the bully in the video in the beginning, Biffy looks to me like he is protecting his baby.

Our family sent out holiday cards each year and the dogs were always included. In this early picture of my family, if you look closely, you can see that I am NOT happy. I look like a thundercloud and am trying to pry my dad’s hand off of me. The picture was taken immediately following my temper tantrum because I couldn’t hold the dog (Moosie) in the picture.

A few years later, this card shows our bulldog Celeste, along with Moosie. And they still didn’t let me hold the animals for the picture, but apparently I was more accustomed to the slight at that age.

On this day, as we remind ourselves of our many blessings and show thanks, please don’t forget your pets! I know that I will be loving and kissing on mine – even more so than usual.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22nd, 2011

LeeAnn

This is the third soup that I have tried from the 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker cookbook by Lynn Alley. This one is my new favorite.

This soup was creamy, rich and delicious. It tasted like it was full of fat and calories – but it was not. The recipe serves 4 to 6. I figured the nutritional information off of 5 servings. There are 353 calories per serving (and a serving is sufficient for a meal), with 16.8 grams of protein.

The ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 1/2 pounds small red or white potatoes, skins on

6 cups water (I added vegetable bouillon cubes)

8 ounces blue cheese (your favorite kind)

4 cloves garlic

salt

freshly ground black pepper

chopped fresh rosemary, for garnishing

The soup was incredibly easy to put together. Before going to work, I chopped the onion and celery and sautéed it in the butter – ten minutes for the onions (until lightly browned) and then added the celery and cooked for two minutes longer.

I then put the onion and celery mix, together with the potatoes, in the crockpot, set it on low for four hours and left the house.

At lunch time, I came home to check on the crockpot. It made me a little nervous to leave the potatoes cooking without any water, but all was fine. There were a couple of bigger potatoes in the mix, so I let them cook for forty-five minutes longer.

I then added the water (and bouillon), blue cheese and garlic. Using my immersion blender, I pureed the ingredients so that the soup had texture and color (from the red potato skins). The recipe also suggests that you may want to mash the potatoes instead, for a more “rustic feel.”

I salted the soup to taste and set the crockpot on warm.

I went back to work (from home) for four hours, stirring the soup occasionally so it didn’t burn on the bottom.

When we were ready to eat, I ladled the soup into bowls and garnished with a little dollop of blue cheese, fresh rosemary and sliced green onions.

It was delicious. We ate it along with a piece of whole grain bread. I gave my husband the option of adding chicken to it, but he declined – he loved the taste as is, and it was very satisfying.

Enjoy!

November 17th, 2011

LeeAnn

Fall is in the air, even in Savannah (kind of, sort of – it is eighty degrees today). For many of you, this may evoke thoughts of changing colors in the leaves, pumpkins, crisp clean air and winter clothing.

Not me. I start to wonder what Oprah Winfrey is going to have on her Favorite Things show. I miss Oprah. I can’t help it. Yes, I have been gainfully employed over the last two plus decades, but I watched her show. A lot. Usually while running on the treadmill.

I am not sure how I am going to get ready for the holidays without her Favorite Things show. It was a favorite of mine. For those of you who never saw it, it was at least one show – sometimes two – dedicated to showing the world Oprah’s favorite new items. These included food, clothes, shoes, cosmetics, appliances, jewelry, etc. She would typically restrict her studio audience that day to a worthy group – such as all military spouses or all teachers – and each member of the audience would get all of her favorite things. I still have and enjoy many items purchased after watching the show.

As a tribute to Oprah, I thought I would do my own version of the favorite things show – and I thought it would be fitting to include some of Oprah’s favorite things in with mine. For my male readers, I apologize – some of this is more applicable to the ladies.

Presenting – the first annual Oprah’s and My Favorite Things.

Am I going to have to get up for this?

In case you don’t know, I am referring to Oprah Aldridge, my beautiful black cat. (If you haven’t met her, you may want to read this post: Ode to Oprah.)

This peanut butter is unbelievable. And I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur. This is fantastic in recipes, such as the peanut butter muffins discussed on my Muffin Mania post. It is delicious on a spoon right out of the fridge, or on a banana. I put one tablespoon into my oatmeal every morning for the delicious taste and also the protein. Yum – and healthy, with the only ingredients peanuts, flax seed and salt. The only problem with this peanut butter is that you cannot get it in Savannah. When my hubby goes anywhere near a Trader Joe’s on his work travels, he knows to pick me up at least two. For those of you that are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s, enjoy!

Oprah Aldridge loves snacks – she will pretty much eat anything. Because of her propensity (much like the real Oprah’s documented trials) for weight issues, she eats a low-calorie cat food. She does get treats, though. If it is not people food, she likes these treats:

Do you have an item of clothing that when you wear it, someone always comments on it? If I had to pick one item from my closet, it would be this belt:

Whenever I wear this belt (and it is often), I always get a compliment on it. I can wear it with a skirt, jeans or khakis, but my favorite is with jeans – black, blue or white. The belt is from Sundance. I would like to live in the Sundance catalog. I drool over each page. There are so many items in the catalog that I love – clothes, jewelry, accessories, furniture, etc. This belt can be found in the catalog or online at Sundance Catalog.

My Oprah is a little devious and evil. One of her favorite past times is scaring people or dogs. And she has various places throughout the house from which she stages these surprises. Her favorite is on a shelf in my closet. You can see that it looks like she has been there recently:

She patiently waits until I come in there, half asleep, to put on my running shoes in the morning and, as I am bent over, reaches out and taps me on the back. Who needs coffee??

This next favorite thing of mine is an acquired taste. My husband once smelled it and commented that it smelled like sweaty socks. I have become addicted to it though and typically drink three or four a week. Have you tried a Kombucha?

As you can read from the label, it claims to reawaken, rethink, retain, reactivate, and many other wonderful things. I don’t know how many of these claims are valid. I do know that it has two effects on me: (1) it dulls my hunger, and (2) it does seem to give me energy (and it does not contain caffeine). Our Fresh Market started carrying these recently and couldn’t keep them on the shelf. My favorite check-out lady would hide a supply for herself and me when the delivery arrived. She has reflux and digestive issues and believes that the Kombucha helps greatly. There are several different flavors – I much prefer the ginger flavor. Again – it is an acquired taste – you have to get used to it.

Oprah also likes her privacy. She has her favorite places to sleep, where no one can find her. One lair she has created for herself is on our guest bedroom bed – she has moved the pillows to create a wonderful hiding place.

I worry when we have guests that she will seek revenge on them for taking her spot. You never know with her. If you visit us for an overnight stay, you may want to sleep with one eye open.

A final favorite item of mine is from a jeweler whom I found through a dear friend. Kathryn Riechert is a SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) graduate and sells on Etsy. I love that her pieces are very delicate, not over-pricey, and carry positive messages. The below necklace, which I own, says “Be Happy, Be Awesome, Be True.” Kathryn has a website at Kathryn Riechert.

I love being reminded of that wonderful mantra every time I wear it.

Enjoy!

November 14th, 2011

LeeAnn

Did you know that the gentleman who wrote The Dance lives in Savannah? He does. I actually met him once. What an incredibly powerful song. For your listening/viewing pleasure:

However, this post is not about that dance; it is instead about a routine that plays out twice daily in our house.

The participants have been together about ten years – Gracie, a ten and a half year old English bulldog, and Oprah, a thirteen year old black cat whom we adopted from the humane society at about five weeks old.

It occurs at Gracie’s mealtimes – which are usually around 7:30 am and 5:30 pm. Mind you, Oprah has a dish of food available at all times – and heaven help us if that dish is ever empty – she screams like someone is ripping her toenails out (which is pretty much the only time she is vocal).

Oprah’s grandma (my mom) says that Oprah has an eating disorder. And she may be right; Oprah is definitely a little full-figured. Maybe it is because she remembers not having enough to eat (although, admittedly, that would be one heck of a memory). Maybe she is living up to her namesake’s documented eating issues.

Regardless of the reason, Oprah likes FOOD – human, dog and cat food, in that order.

So, when we feed Gracie, Oprah is always hovering around us. And the following scene is played out:

My husband and I always speculate as to the conversation that is occurring between the two of them. (Ok, I speculate and my husband rolls his eyes and says “yes, dear.”)

I think it is one of the following:

Oprah: “You know they might be poisoning you. I think you better let me try it first to make sure it is ok.”

Gracie: “Yeah right. This is the lady that lets me sleep in her bed when that man is out of town. She would never poison me.”

Oprah: “(while batting her eyes) Sister, have you I told you lately that you are looking quite svelte?”

Gracie: “OMG. I better start eating more.”

Oprah: “Ok, chubby, here is the deal – you give me some of your food or I will methodically drop kitty litter in each of your dog beds.”

Gracie: “Do you remember who you are talking to? I would eat your kitty litter if it didn’t freak the people out so much!”

Oprah is devious and manipulative, so I personally think it is option C more often than not. It is always peaceful and rarely ends in Oprah getting any food.

The regularity and frequency of it makes me laugh. And I am grateful each time for that gift.

November 7th, 2011

LeeAnn

Life in Savannah has been a little crazy lately. I have been busy at work and the city of Savannah itself has been bustling.

This weekend marked the end of the Savannah Film Festival, which is a week-long festival that has gained a lot of attention and praise in the entertainment industry. It is hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design (otherwise known as SCAD) and attracts some big names. This year’s slate included Lily Tomlin, Ellen Barkin, James Marsden, James Cromwell, lots of directors whose names were not familiar to me and … Alec Baldwin. I seriously considered stalking Alec for a period of time. I am not sure if good sense or laziness overcame me, but one did and I did not. I love 30 Rock and have seen It’s Complicated ~~five times~~ several times. He makes me laugh.

Also this past weekend was the inaugural Savannah Rock and Roll Marathon (and 1/2 marathon). I registered for the half marathon when registration was first open, but decided, with my hip issues, to not run it. I had very mixed feelings about it – probably sadness more than anything to not be a part of something so exciting for our city.

The city was ALIVE with athletes starting on Friday. I went to the expo (with my sweet mama) to pick up my t-shirt (which I will feel guilty wearing since I did not run the race) and felt like I was at the airport in Las Vegas. Every once in a while it occurs to me that perhaps I have lived in a small town too long. This was one of those moments.

The amount of people and the booths, and the free swag, and people yelling and calling to me and telling me about what they were trying to give to me or sell to me was honestly… somewhere between pretty cool and a bit much.

Since my deals at work closed this past week, my husband and I decided to come up to the mountains for a breather and another look at the change of seasons. He went right to the mountains from a business trip and I headed out (with my faithful four-legged companions) Saturday morning, having to take very circuitous routes out-of-town due to multiple road closures for the marathon.

My husband and I have named our house in the mountains Serenity Now. This sign greets us in the front hall of the house:

We are both Seinfeld fans and my husband’s favorite character is George’s father – who was known to yell “Serenity Now!!” The name fits. As I make the final climb (and it is a doozy of a final climb), stress seems to leave me.

At the elevation of Serenity Now, the leaves are off of the trees. However, the views into the lower elevations are spectacular. This afternoon (Sunday), we left walking from the house to take a hike which lasted for about an hour and a half. Of all of our views, these two pictures best capture the variety of colors:

Now, on a cold Sunday evening, we are sitting in front of a fire, enjoying a glass of red wine, catching our breath.

Serenity Now!!

sunrise from the bedroom - table rock on the right and hawk's bill on the left

Have a wonderful week!

November 3rd, 2011

LeeAnn

I have had several epiphanies lately.

A couple of weeks ago, I had to drive to the mountains on a Friday to meet dear friends who were coming for the weekend. I was sick with a bad cold and my work was crazy busy. I didn’t want to miss seeing my friends, though, and my husband was already in the mountains, waiting on me. I had to get up there, as much as I dreaded the drive.

As you may know from other posts (see Fortytude), I have a love/hate relationship with self-help books. I loved Fortytude by Sarah Brokaw, struggled with Eat, Pray, Love and really wanted to throw The Secret off of a cliff somewhere. When a dear friend and my cousin both recommended a book called Women Food and God, by Geneen Roth, I was intrigued.

Lately, in an effort to make the five and a half hour drive to the mountains more bearable, I have listened to books on tape. Thus far, I have tried two mystery/intrigue books; with each, before I knew it, I was at my destination.

I loaded up on kleenex, downloaded Women Food and God from Audible Books onto my iPad, and set out on my trip on Friday morning, with my four-legged travel companions.

Here was my first epiphany – DO NOT LISTEN TO SELF HELP BOOKS WHILE DRIVING LONG DISTANCES WITH A COLD. The combination of my not feeling great, the warmth of the sun, the monotone voice of the author (whom I am sure is a lovely lady), and the not overly exciting subject matter almost killed me. The bulldog snoring coming from the back seat didn’t help either. I made it about two hours and then desperately searched the radio dial for AC/DC to get my blood flowing again.

I didn’t get far enough into the book to understand yet what the connection is between your belief in God and your eating habits. I did, however, hear something very interesting. At one point in the book, Ms. Roth urges the reader to have “the willingness to stop defining your tasks as a means to an end and instead inhabit what you yourself have chosen. What if this is exactly what you are supposed to be doing because it is what you are doing? What if each nitty-gritty task is perfection itself and you keep missing it because you’re looking for something else?” She warns that “[y]ou miss the life that happens in the middle zone – between now and what you think your life should be like. And when you miss those moments … you are missing your own life.”

Those words haunted me for the rest of my journey.

I am constantly working towards self-improvement goals. Right away I can list five projects that are dominating my time and thoughts:

1. Improving my yoga practice;

2. Making my diet more healthy;

3. Improving my sleep habits;

4. Deciding what I want to do with the rest of my life; and

5. Growing my hair.

And my thinking is that once I am as nimble as Gumby, rested and healthy, in a job which I am passionate about, and have long hair – I will be living my best life.

In all seriousness, I now see the potential danger of this. At times, I don’t think I have been fully enjoying my life; instead I have been preparing myself to live what I think will be an amazing life once I reach these goals. It reminds me of that old warning of “don’t miss the forest for the trees.” I have been focusing on the trees; I need to see the forest.

My life is incredible. I am so lucky in many ways. I am surrounded by people who love and support me. I have reached goals of which I am very proud.

Instead of constantly trying to improve myself, I am working to ENJOY my daily yoga practice; to TASTE and APPRECIATE what I eat – and not be obsessive about it; to ACCEPT when I can’t sleep and not fight it so much; to REALIZE that maybe I am where I am supposed to be in life career-wise; and, finally, to be GRATEFUL for how my hair looks (ok, if you know me, you know this one won’t last. But as the trusted sage Meatloaf might say, four out of five ain’t bad.)

Interestingly, now that I have become more in-tune to this issue, I feel like I am getting bombarded by the message.

This week especially, my yoga instructors have asked us to be present and in the moment. Enjoy the here and now. On the day that I am writing this post, I came across this quote from Baron Baptiste on facebook: “True success is not about anything more than truly living a life that works on all levels, not just for us, but for the world.”

I am ready. Are you?

November 1st, 2011

LeeAnn

In my continuing quest for delicious crock pot soups, I chose another recipe from 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker, by Lynn Alley. This week’s soup was a total winner.

It is called Chickpea Soup Arrabbiata. The ingredients are:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 pound (2 cups) dried chickpeas

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

7 cups water

1 teaspoon chili flakes

2 bay leaves

1 Parmesan cheese rind, or more if desired

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

4 cloves garlic, or more

salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons fresh basil, sliced thinly

I adapted the recipe a little. First, I couldn’t find dried chickpeas. I used canned chickpeas, rinsed them and put them into the crockpot. I then added the carrots and celery.

After sauteing the onion in the olive oil until it was slightly brown (a little less than 10 minutes), I added the onions to the crockpot. Next in were the tomatoes, tomato paste, chili flakes, bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Did you know that you can buy Parmesan rind? I did not, but you can. And it added a lot to the taste of the soup.

The last ingredient in was the water. I used vegetable bouillon instead of plain water.

I turned the crockpot on low for five hours (recipe suggests eight hours if you use dried chickpeas).

After the five hours, I added the oregano (and would have added thyme, but didn’t have any) and the garlic.

I then pulled out (and washed) my immersion blender which I had never used. The recipe suggests pureeing about one-fourth of the soup to thicken it. I stuck the blender in, turned it on and before I knew it, all chickpeas were pureed. I did not realize the strength of that little blender. I was still very happy with the soup and the texture, but I think next time I would leave a few chickpeas intact – if for no reason other than aesthetic appeal.

After I ladled the soup into the bowls, I added the fresh basil and also some freshly grated Parmesan (the recipe suggests fresh parsley for garnish as well – I didn’t have any). The finished product, with a slice of whole grain bread from Fresh Market:

I consider myself a tomato soup aficionado and this was delicious. I envision making this a staple in my weekly diet – either for dinner or lunch.

A warning – because of the chili flakes, it is spicy. If you are not a fan of heat, adjust accordingly.

The recipe makes 6 – 8 healthy sized servings. I figured the nutritional information on six servings: calories – 233; protein – 9.3 grams.

October 28th, 2011

LeeAnn

The older I get, the more I really enjoy working from home, as opposed to going to the office.

Is it because I am getting anti-social and grumpy? Maybe.

I like to think it is for other reasons. Here are the top five reasons why I like to work from home:

1. My desk chair comes with a seat heater and gentle vibrator. It looks like this:

Oprah sitting behind me on my desk chair and purring

2. Under my desk is a foot warmer if my feet get cold:

My sweet (and warm) Gracie

3. I work at my grandfather’s desk. I try to channel his scholarly legal mind when I am having difficulties.

4. I can wear this and no one complains:

my vintage Bob Seger t-shirt

5. I can exercise at noon in lieu of a lunch break.

Or (and this is more often the case), I can watch this while eating my lunch:

embarrassing, I know

I swear these things make me more productive. I also have more time for gardening and landscaping. But if you don’t have this kind of luxury, you can always hire professional lawn care services. Quality Lawncare and Landscaping is a lawn care company Rome.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Importance of Kindness

Surviving December

In Celebration of our Faithful Companions

Blue Cheese Potato Soup

Oprah’s and My Favorite Things

The Dance

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