a peek inside the fishbowl

I wanted to get it done before the snow melts. I think we are on schedule.*

You’ll note that we are now in the “process of elimination” phase of this puzzle. Sigh.

I would say THANK GOD it’s almost done, but since this puzzle was a gift from a nun I’m not entirely sure it’s appropriate. :)

* Thank you to two members of my family who helped out with this one. I love ya!

Yesterday, I mentioned that a good breakfast was one of the essential things I need if I’m going to have a good day and function well within it. Here’s what I eat, almost every day:

What you see:

– blueberries (although I usually eat frozen berries that I zap in the microwave)
– All-Bran Buds (don’t laugh, they have changed my life)
– homemade granola
– plain yogurt

For awhile we were buying a sweetened plain yogurt by Activia, but since I’ve been reducing on my sugar intake I thought that cutting out sweet yogurt would be a good place to start. Over the past year or so I’ve tried all kinds of unsweetened yogurt but never really found one I liked. Most were too tart or sour, or had gelatin and corn starch and other thickeners in it. And so, with that, I decided to see if I could make my own.

Making your own yogurt is a lot easier than you’d think. I’ve tried this recipe-slash-cooking lesson at thekitchn.com twice now, and although I’m still tweaking the resting time I consider it a keeper.

All you do is warm some milk on the stove, let it cool, stir in a bit of plain yogurt, let the mixture rest, and voila, it’s done.

It is light tasting and has the right texture. It is not as thick as store bought yogurt, but given the way I eat it every day it almost doesn’t matter. If this was an issue I could strain it through cheese cloth, but I don’t bother. If I wanted a fruity yogurt I’d just add a spoonful of jam or cut up some fresh fruit in it.

The whole process makes me happy. I can’t say why exactly, but it is remarkably satisfying. Much like baking bread, the process is kind of magical. You mix some inconspicuous ingredients together and get something different in the end. It’s alchemy!

Let me know if you try making your own. I’d love to hear about it!

Yesterday was a lost day for me.

I should actually write that as Lost Day, because that’s the way I see it in my mind. Capital L. Capital D.

It was a Lost Day. Or, at least, it started out that way.

It’s very hard to do anything when it’s a Lost Day. It’s hard to get out of bed. Get out of the shower. Get dressed. It’s hard to be productive, hard to be chipper, hard to motivate myself to go to the gym. It’s even hard to write in my wonderful new agenda.

The easiest thing to do is stay in my fuzzy bathrobe, pull my hair back into a ponytail, and do little outside of watching Netflix and reading. It’s also very easy to wallow in that murky pool of self-pity. On Lost Days, worries and anxieties I had banished tend to sneak in and regain a foothold.

I eventually forced myself to get dressed. I made yogurt (!). I did some work. I ate too much. I put a few pieces in a big puzzle that has been underway since Christmas. But it was like I was moving in molasses.

I was in the shower today and realized that my morning routine is My Daily Pillar. If my pillar is in place, everything somehow comes together ok. I remembered that, for the past few days, I had temporarily abandoned my morning routine for reasons I won’t go into here. Usually, I wake up, put on my gym clothes, make coffee, bask in the glow of my Litebook for 30 minutes while I write, do 30 on the treadmill, eat my yogurt & granola, have a shower, pop my vitamins, then start my day for realz. But since I hadn’t been doing those things I had no pillar to build upon. As a result, the foundation started to crumble.

As for now, I am going back to my routine and am trying to soak up some sunshine while it lasts. Maybe I’ll make a cup of tea… and start building again.