A Day with Gma

I love my grams.. unfortunately we had to bring her to the hospital recently..she's doing ok! After spending the day in the ER with her I have to share a few one liners with you...

"Mrs Lark..do you wear a hearing aid?" -nurse

"Pardon??" -gma

"I hope you dont mind this is my first time drawing blood.." (jokingly) -nurse

"What am I a pigeon?!?!" -gma

"gma you mean guinea pig?" -me

"O yea, guinea pig" - gma

"I am so happy for you (PS I'm engaged!!)..and you are going to be an O'Rourke! IRISH! I'm Irish you know.. So much better then that Oranati name"-gma

I have to say she keeps me entertained.

Resolution

Resolutions are a funny thing because I feel like if its something we wanted or were able to do we would be doing it already. When January 1st comes not much changes except for the year number. We dont magically have more time, more money or change who we are. I think often times we say we are going to make these extreme changes which ultimately sets us up to fail.

We should always be trying to better ourselves and making positive adjustments in our life year round. I don't make new years resolutions anymore because I know I ultimately will feel bad about myself because there will come a time when I break it. Instead this year I decided that I am going to continue on the path that I am on and work at finding the balance and try to do the right thing. Focus on the relationships that matter and let the ones go that dont, eat healthy and enjoy some greasy stuff once in awhile, go to yoga a few days a week and skip it if I want to sit on the couch and catch up on greys anatomy and glee, save money but splurge once in awhile on things that make me happy. You get the idea..

It's obviously important to have goals in life.. just make them doable and don't be hard on yourself if things don't always happen the way you planned. Strive for balance this year..it's the best gift we can give ourselves.

Journey

I was in yoga class the other day and the teacher read a passage out of a book that stuck with me. It basically talked about the fact that many of us have an idea in our head that when we reach a certain goal or milestone in life we will be happier. For example, "when I pay off all my debt I'll be happy," "when I graduate from school," "when I'm engaged" etc.. we look to some future event in which we think life will be so much better. In doing that we miss out on today. All of us are on some sort of up hill climb. While on this climb instead of looking at how far we have to go we should look back once in awhile and be aware of how far we've come. Whether we realize it or not we have all come a long way and we should be proud of our growth, what we have accomplished and be thankful for the journey.

Turkey Day Tips

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No pressure of finding the right gift and the theme of the day is eat, drink and be lazy with people you love. Who couldn't get behind a holiday like that? I've learned a few things over the years that will help create an ideal thanksgiving holiday. A bunch of no brainers but a friendly reminder never hurt anyone..

wear comfy clothes. you can be a fashionista 364 days a year but thanksgiving is a day where comfort should take priority. loose and baggy people. no matter how good and fit you feel in the morning, if you do thanksgiving right by 6pm you will feel like a sloth. a food coma in skinny jeans is not a good feeling.

just accept the fact that football is going to be on tv. there is nothing you can do about it. no one wants to watch the parade or the lady gaga thanksgiving special :(

families..we love each other to death but we bicker..its all in good fun, really..if you want to keep it at a friendly level do not bring up politics or religon.

cocktail, water, cocktail, water, cocktail, water..h2O breaks help with digestion and mental capacity. :)

Thanksgiving is like a marathon. If you sprint hard out of the gate you'll never make it to the finish line. Pace yourself. If you fill up on appetizers you will miss out on a lot of yummy food.

make sure you get your hands on some left overs. Seriously, there is nothing better because no one feels like cooking the day after thanksgiving.

Enjoy the day! If your lucky you have the day off and people to share it with. Remember to be thankful for not only the blessings in your life but the misfortunes as well. They make us strong, shape us into the people we are and remind us of what is most important in life.

Gobble til you wobble!

Easy Apps

I am in charge of appetizers this year for Thanksgiving dinner. I have never been given such an important role and I am little stressed out because I have to work tuesday and wednesday night. This gives me limited time to prepare everything and get over there while also throwing in at least a three hour nap to ensure I make it through dinner. No fear. I have found my answer. 4 answers to be exact. delicious appetizers with quick easy prep and cook time that will be sure to impress...

Zippy Green Chile Dip

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup salsa verde

1/4 cup of milk

4oz feta cheese

1/2 bunch cilantro, stemmed

3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

1 jalapeno chie, seeded and coarsely chopped

salt

chips for serving

use a blender, combine the cream cheese, salsa verde, milk, feta, cilantro, garlic and half of the jalapeno, season with salt

scrape and dip into a serving bowl and top with remaining jalapeno. serve with chips

Corn Crisps
1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups of frozen corn kernels (precook in microwave for 3min)

1/4 cup finely chopped scallions

canola or vegetable oil

in a large bowl, combine to flour, salt, baking powder, cumin, sugar and cayenne. In a a medium bowl whisk together the egg milk and butter. stir the wet ingredients into the dry until they are blended. fold in the corn and scallions

pour oil into a lark nonstick skillet (should come up to 1/4 height of pan) and heat it until the oil is simmering. for each crisp , drop a slightly rounded tablespoon of batter into the oil. flattening it slightly with the back of the spoon

fry them in batches over medium high heat until they are golden. about 2-3 minutes. turn them over and fry them until the other side is golden. about 2 minutes more. transfer the crisps to a paper towel line sheet pan, sprinkle them immediately with a bit of salt.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 (10oz) package of frozen chopped spinach

2 (13 3/4 oz) cans artichoke hearts

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 cup of freshly grated parmesan

1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a casserole dish with nonstick spray

heat the spinach in microwave oven on high for 5 minutes and squeeze dry. drain the artichoke hearts and coarsely chop in a food processor

combine all the ingredients except the jack cheese in a large bowl. stir well. scrape into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the jack cheese on top. bake for 30 minutes. serve with chips

Brie de Croute

1 sheet frozen puff pasty, pre packaged

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup walnuts

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 8oz wheel of Brie

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

crackers for serving

preheat oven to 375 F

defrost puff pastry for approximately 15-20 min and unfold

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. saute the walnuts in the butter until golden brown. approx 5 min. add the cinnamon and stir until walnuts are coated well. place walnut misture on top of the brie and sprikle the brown sugar over the mixture. lay the puff pastry out on a flat surface. place the brie in the center of the pastry. gather up the edges of the pastry, pressing around the brie and gather at the top. gently squeeze together the excess dough and tie together with piece of kitchen twine. brush the beaten egg over the top and side. place the brie on a cooking sheet and make for 20 min or until pastry golden brown. serve with crackers

Happy Turkey Day!

This Christmas..

I had a realization recently. As the holidays come up I usually think about all the loot I want to get everyone and what I might get in return. This year I came up with nothing. I really do not want or need anything in my life. I am so blessed and happy to be where I am at. I don't always take the time to think about how blessed I am ..in fact I take it for granted. I have a job, food on my table, clothes, a roof over my head, family, friends and a Molly girl that love me. What else could a girl ask for?

This year I challenge everyone to look outside yourself and your own family and see that their are a lot of people in need around you even in your own community. There are so many ways to help and it all really does help. Most churches have a giving tree where you can pick a name of an in need child you can by a toy for. You can adopt an in need family or donate to an organization that does. You can drop of non perishable foods at your nearest food drive or soup kitchen that help to provide holiday meals for families in need. I challenge everyone to do one thing for those in need this holiday season... big or small..it all helps more then we will ever know. and it will make you feel good too!

Mother Teresa once said "If you can't feed 100 then just feed one. It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that we put into them that matters."

Muse

Loving this new Katie Perry song..

this one has also been on repeat..so beautiful..