From My Computer

Yesterday my father got my computer fixed. Upon booting it up after being without it for a year, I found this among my documents. It's a little different then my usual posts but I wanted to include it on here anyway. Hopefully it means as much to you as it did to me.

A key is a secret used to open a blocked passage or treasure. A blocked passage or treasure is sealed to either protect a secret or to dissuade others from approaching and entering. Some passages are blocked forever where others can be opened by anything. The most well protected secret is the secret to an individual’s soul. Only God possesses a key to everybody’s soul. What I believe love to be concerns this idea regarding a key and a locked soul. When love exists, God, in his infinite wisdom has opened the door to someone’s soul, for only God can arrange for such a gift to be bestowed upon us, the gift of love, but God allows us to decide if this love is something we want to keep. In other words, it is up to the soul possessor to allow others into their secret passage. Sometimes the wrong people are allowed into this sacred area…these people don’t see how sacred and important the secret really is and thus they disrespect it. When this happens it is up to the host to escort these undeserving individuals out the door. Once they have been removed from the secret place it is up to soul possessor to either lock the door tight and try to clean up the mess or he/she can ask others, that are always invited in, to help clean up the mess. Sometimes it is better to clean up alone and other times it is imperative to accept the help offered by others. Thus, God opens the door to love and it is up to individual soul possessors to determine if that love stays or leaves. That is love. True love is a little different. True love involves a soul possessor and a soul key. Every soul is a key maker. The soul has the ability to create a soul key. It takes a lot of time to shape and mold this key and individuals generally do not know when their keys are made because soul keys cannot be sensed, they can only be used. The soul key is unique because although individuals create them, only the keys know when they have met their key holes. Another thing that is unique about soul keys are in order for them to work, another soul key has to be present in order for it to unlock the passageway to an individual’s most sacred treasure, he/she’s undying love. The other key is possessed by another individual and only the correct match will allow for the passageway to be unlocked. Finally, both keys need to turn at the same time in order for true love to be unlocked. Once it is unlocked these possessors of soul keys enter into a different world. Hand in hand they walk together, without any fear or hesitation, into the land of True Love.

The Dichotomy of Love

I, once again, have been away for too long. Almost every day I think of some new thing that I want to think through, which I do by writing, but I don't make the time to do it. As a result, I think I've been more stressed then usual, which in turn makes me not write, and the vicious cycle continues. Since I don't need anymore stress in my life, while Sophia is napping I'm going to be writing. One of the biggest things that has been stressing me out is trying to find balance. Up until Sophia was born I thought I was a decent wife. I was fun, flirty, and relatively carefree. While I'm not very tidy I am a good cook, and since I married an Italian I figured that was more important anyway. Well, just as I was figuring all of this married stuff out, Sophia arrived. It has been three months now since she was born and I finally feel that I have this parenting thing down, at least for this stage. I know what her cries mean, and when she needs to nap, and how to make her smile and giggle with the utmost glee. The only problem I have now is how to combine these two roles together. To keep Sophia happy she needs to be the focus of my attention, but to keep my husband happy he needs my attention too. For the past few months he has been on cruise control. While this is a useful function to have and occasionally employ, it's not a good permanent state to be in. This last week we've decided to try to plan a date night every other week. It can be coffee, dinner, or even watching a movie at our place; anything as long as it's just the two of us. Soph has made me love David more but has given me less time time to love him with; an interesting dichotomy only people with children truly know.

Baby Baby Baby

I started packing up Sophia's old baby clothes today. At 3 months she's in her 6-9 month clothes and I can't believe how much she has grown. I also can't believe what David and I have found ourselves talking about this last week...having another baby! A month or so ago the idea petrified me. I was tired, weary, depressed and fat. (Being an overweight exhausted mother of a newborn is a great form of birth control.) Then, miracle of miracles, Sophia started sleeping through the night. Once she reached 2 months she started her AMAZING routine of going to bed around 5:30-6 and waking up around that same time in the morning with David and I. It's crazy how sleep can revolutionize your whole outlook on life! Suddenly being a mom wasn't all sleepless nights and self-sacrifice, it was, and is, a lot of fun! While I'm not ready to have another baby yet, I still have 20 lbs to lose 'till I'm back to my goal weight, I'm looking forward to when we get to again. Liz, my mass producing older sister, and I are thinking of alternating years. Her first was October 2008, mine was July 2009, her next one will be May 2010 so that puts ours somewhere around June 2011. We'll see how parenting Sophia and life ends up panning out=)

Feet

For the last week I've had a writing assignment looming over my head that has kept me away. Between taking care of Sophia and my husband, and trying to write another article, on Starbucks=), I've had little time to write anything for fun. With my daughter asleep and the other piece done I finally have a free minute. Sophia discovered her feet yesterday! She wanted nothing more than to play with them all day long and so that's what she and I did. It's amazing to watch her grow and develop and discover new things. With each new thing that she discovers she can do, she gets happier and more excited with herself and life. Watching her enthusiasm is an inspiration and motivation for me. She needs nothing more than two feet and a warm smile to send her into a fit of giggles. I am rediscovering myself and an innocence I had lost as I see life through her new eyes. While I may never have as much energy as she does, even with daily doses of coffee, I can have as much joy and wonder; a good goal for my day.

Food...Yum

Before I was married I put together a cookbook of all of my favorite recipes. During the later months of my pregnancy, and even more since having Sophia, I hadn't felt up to doing a lot of creative cooking. As I said in an earlier post, most of my dinners have been some variation of an easy chicken dish. Now that Sophia is three months old, I feel like I have a better handle on things and want to start making some of my favorite recipes again. (David is very excited about the prospect of some variety in his meals as well=) I thought I'd share these recipes with you all incase you too could use some new culinary ideas to add to your repertoire, so I created Mommy Needs Her Food (http://mommy-needs-her-food.blogspot.com/) as a companion sight. I'll be adding to it all the time and feel free to post your recipe ideas as well. Bon Appetit.

(Check on the right side of this blog for a link directly to the page.)

My New Home

Today has been a handful. Sophia wanted to snuggle all day which is adorable and cozy but also kept me from being very productive. As a result of my arms being full of baby, the laundry and straightening didn't get done, but my blog got moved to it's new home. A lot of people had been having trouble finding my blog due to the fact that my old web address spelled coffee with 3 "e"s (I don't think Sophia was sleeping through the night in those days). To avoid further confusion I thought I would just change it, but it ended up being a much bigger project than I anticipated. I have come to realize that I am not very computer savvy. Well, now that my blog is all straightened out, I'd better get my house in order. It seems so much more peaceful when it's clean.

Yummy

I cook almost every night but it's always very simple things. I seldom have the time to whip up anything more than couscous, a vegetable, and chicken. Yesterday however, David put in a special request for his favorite dish, my chicken enchiladas. Now this is not my chicken enchilada recipe, it's my friend Lesley's recipe, but since I make them I get the credit=). A night when David will be around to watch Sophia for me, I plan on making this dish and HIGHLY recommend everyone try it! It's a husband pleaser.

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (plus additional for the dish)

1-2 cloves garlic

4 scallions (white and tender green parts) chopped

1 (15 ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed

1 chipotle chili pepper in adobe sauce finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Lime juice

1 cup diced cooked chicken

4-6 large tortillas

2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 cup green (tomatillo) salsa

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; oil an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the garlic and scallions and cook, stirring for about 1 minute. Add the drained black beans and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Using a potato masher, or the back of a wooden spoon, mash the beans. Add the chipotle, salt, cumin, and lime juice and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add the chicken and toss to combine; set aside.

Place a skillet over medium-high heat. Heat the tortillas, one at a time, until softened and flexible, about 10 seconds per side. (I skip this step.) Working one at a time, spoon approximately 1/6 or 1/4 of the black bean-chicken mixture along the center of the tortilla, then sprinkle with about 1/4 cup cheese. Roll the sides of the tortilla over the filling and place it in the baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Sprinkle the rolled tortillas with the remaining cheese and pour salsa over the top. Bake the enchiladas until warmed through, about 20 minutes.