Comfort Zone Expanded...

Cooking Club on location at Glen Ivy Hot Springs in Corona, California for a day of relaxation and fun...only I wasn't sure how fun it would be without Lori, the experienced spa goer and planner of this get-a-way. Lori had to cancel at the last minute due to a sick child and I very much wanted to back out being that I was reluctant to go in the first place. None of us have been here before and not knowing what to expect or what to do when we got here, I let my fear of the unknown take over, trying to talk me out of going. I'm happy I didn't let my apprehension stop me because we had an amazing day.

We relaxed by one of the many pools in the morning and some of us took a yoga class. Then it was out to the parking lot for our Cooking Club picnic lunch. We shared delicious food with wonderful ladies and enjoyed the cool shade for a while.

After lunch we went to Club Mud for our mud treatment and some fun people watching.

The lounging pool below, which I didn't really want to visit since it was so crowded, turned out to be my favorite spot. Lying on the rafts, in the shade, looking up at the palm trees and chatting with friends, was so peaceful and relaxing. After lounging, we walked around checking out all the great little hidden spots to hang out, took a dip in the Hot Pool and then the Cold Plunge, and ended our day in the smelly Mineral Bath.

And here we are, clean and refreshed after our wet steam room, Roman bath and shower (we had to try EVERYTHING, just to say we did). I'm so, so, so glad we made the trip. Thanks Ladies, it was a wonderful day and I'd love to make it a yearly Cooking Club event.

A Visual Diary of my Week

This week I thought it would be fun to document my life with photos. No easy task I might add and now that I've gotten this post finished, it will probably be my last weekly visual diary. Yikes...it took me forever to get these photos to cooperate for some reason and I've pulled out most of my hair already! Anyhow, it's hard to remember to take photos of routine stuff you do and I didn't always remember to bring my camera. In those cases, the trusty phone was my savior. Below is a brief and not-so-complete recap of the week.

Monday, July 2

Workout video and doggie walk everyday.

Trip to the high dive pool for some jumpin' fun.

Creamy Pork Tenderloin with Black Bean and Corn Rice for dinner.

Tuesday, July 3

Long awaited desk organization.

A few journal page backgrounds.

Visit the doctor for swimmers ear....poor Scott!

Yogurt while waiting for the prescription to be filled.

A few rounds of doodle art while watching TV.

Wednesday, July 4

Lunch at Carl's Jr.

A short break by the pool.

BBQ with a few "corny" family members and good friends below.

Fourth of July Girls in Red.

Safety before fireworks.

Spectacular Fireworks in Woodbridge, as usual.

Thursday, July 5

Got Son #1 registered for his first semester of Community College.

Recooperating from the 4th and relaxing at swim practice.

Friday, July 6

Cleaning this bathroom is no easy feat...I broke it up over several days.
So glad I finally got it done. FYI, my side is the clutter free area.

Baked Surprise Cookies with Paige.

Lunch at Del Taco...Steak Taco del Carbon. I LOVE these things.

Dark Shadows at the $2 Theater.
(Don't know why I can't rotate this photo...ARGH!)

Saturday, July 7

Watching my little swimmer swim on the Courtside Stingrays Swim Team.

I out did myself on this dinner. So delicioso!
Meatloaf + dill carrots + Corn Cilantro Salad

Girls night sleepover complete with tent.

Sunday, July 8

A day of rest, sorta.

Happy Sweet 16 Kayla

"Beautiful You" 16x20"
Acrylic on Canvas
June 2012

Still trying to embrace the intuitive painting process with this latest painting "Beautiful You." I painted this as a Sweet 16 gift for Kayla. I hope she likes it...I do. A few close-ups below.

Journal Evolution

My attention has turned to art journaling lately as I continue to fumble my way through this artful journey. I've never been much of a journaler and I still struggle with what words are worthy of laying out on the page vs. the effort of writing longhand. I find that by the time I get my words on the page, the moment has passed and I can't remember where I was going with that thought. Or I think of things I would like to journal about, but when I sit down with journal in hand my mind comes up with nothin'.


A typical journal page for me. No frills, just the facts.
Not much to look at, but it does the job.

I have always been a list maker and I've started to document my life with a daily To Do list and hopefully a few notes or thoughts from the day. This is a doable task for me and by combining the lists and thoughts, I'll show a more complete picture of who I am. Back in December I wrote "This is how I'm going to start my journaling...little snipets along with my To Do list, because lists ARE who I am."

In January I noted "Thought I would use some sticker to make the pages look cuter. I'll bet I even write neater on a cute page." I have so many scrapbooking stickers that I will never use, so I thought I could make use of them in my journal. I do find it hard to make the time to journal, don't know if it's really finding the time or finding the creativity to do something great. One goal is to play with my materials so I can learn how I like working. I've used stamps, embossing powder, watercolor, pen, watersoluable crayon, acrylic and chalk pencil. Another goal is to continually exercise my right brain to keep it in a creative state. 

Love this page :)

When I put in the time and effort, the pages are progressing. When I'm busy the pages remain plain and simple. But that's okay too. Life cycles and other things get our attention when necessary. I'm teaching myself to doodle. It's not a natural process for me, so I'm using my journal to experiment and copy other doodlers. I also want to get better with lettering, so I practice in here as well.

To me, this is the perfect journal page.
It's fun to look at, there's little bits and pieces everywhere
to keep you moving around the page, it's cute and it makes me happy!

I really love simple journal pages that express a feeling or mood with just a few words and images. I'm also finding song lyrics helpful in expressing what I feel better than I can.

On more creative days, my pages look like the one above or below.

 

Homemade Pizza Dinner

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Last nights yummy dinner. BBQ Chicken pizza for parents and pepperoni for the kids.
Everyone's happy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 loaf Frozen bread dough or pizza crust mix

1/2 cup bbq sauce

3 cooked chicken breasts, cubed or shredded

3 garlic cloves, minced
red onion, sliced
red and/or green peppers, sliced
Jack and Cheddar cheese, shredded
cilantro, chopped

Place frozen loaf of bread dough in a large resealable bag sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Allow to thaw to room temperature and rise. Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out dough on baking stone. Snip edges of dough with scissors to form scalloped edge. Spread a thin layer of bbq sauce over dough. Mix cooked chicken with bbq sauce and garlic; sprinkle chicken mixture over dough. Top with  peppers, onions, cheese and parsley. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Serves 6.

Pepperoni Pizza

Traditional Pizza Sauce

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 fresh garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup onion, grated with box grater

1 can tomato sauce (15 oz.)

2 tsp oregano, dried

2 tsp basil, dried

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 Tbsp tomato paste

In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic and onions in olive oil until tender. Add seasonings and continue cooking a few more minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, and then tomato paste. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Yields about 2 cups of sauce, enough for about 4 pizzas. Freeze leftover sauce in ½ cup servings for future use.

To make pizza, follow steps above using Traditional Pizza Sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.

I'm Doing What I Love

Waiting 30 x 24 Acrylic on Canvas

My Painting from Flora's Bloom True E-Course is being showcased, along with 11 others, on Beth's Do What You Love website. See all the beautiful work here. Thank you Flora and Beth for opening up a whole new world of painting.

Shoyu Chicken

A delicious recipe a good friend passed along to me loaded with flavor.
I think it's a Hawaiian dish or maybe Philippino.

Shoyu Chicken

1 - 1½ lb. chicken, bone in (thighs work well, skinless is fine, but boneless breasts don’t do well in this recipe)

1 cup shoyu (soy sauce)

1 cup sugar (for thicker sauce use ½ c sugar & ½ c brown sugar)

3/4 cup water

garlic, at least 2 cloves minced (jar is ok too)

ginger, to taste 1-2 cloves (or use ground, generous dashes)

chopped green onion

toasted Sesame seeds

Rinse/clean chicken & place in a large pot or pan. Add shoyu, sugar, water, garlic, ginger, & green onion. Bring to a boil. Lower heat & simmer about 45 minutes to an hour. Sprinkle w/ sesame seeds. Serve over steamed rice.

I cheated a little on this one. I only had boneless breasts so I cooked them in the sauce for about 20 minutes and realized that wasn't enough time for the sauce to thicken. I removed the breasts and kept them warm then added a little cornstarch and water mixed together, turned the temperature up and let it reduce and thicken. I thought it was very good with little effort. Enjoy!